Dudley's IQILS accreditation journey: From service development to accreditation

The liver service at The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust achieved IQILS accreditation in February 2026, following a period of significant change and development.

The service began as two separate services, with acute inpatient services based at the hospital and a community-based viral hepatitis service. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, changes at a commissioning level created an opportunity to bring these teams together to form the Dudley Integrated Liver Service. What followed was a period of rapid growth into a successful service.

'We never could have imagined what a service we would grow in such a small space of time,’ says Louise Allen, Hepatology Nurse Consultant, who led the accreditation work, alongside Consultant Dr Matthew Harborne.

For Dudley, IQILS became part of that development from the outset. As the team established new services and pathways, accreditation provided a framework for embedding quality improvement into the way the service developed.

‘It was important to have IQILS accreditation as part of that development. As we set up new services, develop new clinics and introduce new patient pathways, IQILS gave us a framework for quality improvement and helped us build that ethos into the service,’ says Louise.

Bringing the team together

With a busy service developing alongside the accreditation work, having a clear structure helped the team keep things moving. Louise and Dr Harborne worked closely together, meeting regularly and bringing colleagues in as needed to work through actions and gather evidence.

‘It helps to have a couple of people really strongly leading the project and then having other people chipping in and out,’ says Louise.

Beyond providing a framework, IQILS helped the team maintain momentum during a busy period of service development. Having clear expectations and deadlines encouraged the team to make time for improvement. Rather than seeing accreditation as one large project, they broke the process down into smaller milestones, focusing on what needed to be achieved each month and protecting time in their diaries.

Evidence gathering was shared across the team using a Teams channel and folder, allowing colleagues to contribute documents and information as they went.

Her advice to other services is simple: ‘Be disciplined with your own targets and deadlines.’

The IQILS assessment: turning feedback into improvement

When assessment came around, the team naturally felt some pressure, but they were also proud of the work they had put in. Louise recalls how quickly those nerves eased once they met the assessors, and the team welcomed the opportunity to show their work. The assessors ‘really did deep dive on everything’, providing a detailed review of the service and identifying practical opportunities for further improvement.

Dudley used this assessment to help further develop their service. One recommendation was to introduce a liver-specific patient information board with QR codes on the ward - something the team quickly put into place.

‘A lot of what they’ve suggested, we’ve run with,’ says Louise.

More than a tick-box exercise

That approach is also why the team sees IQILS accreditation as more than an end point. Dudley achieved accreditation in February 2026, marking an important milestone for the service and providing a foundation for its continued development.

The team's achievements were also recognised within The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, where they received a Healthcare Heroes Award. For Louise, this recognition, alongside achieving IQILS accreditation, was an important opportunity to celebrate the hard work and commitment of colleagues across the service.

But the work hasn't stopped with accreditation. The team has continued to act on recommendations from the assessment, reviewing existing procedures and identifying further opportunities to improve.

For Louise, that is ultimately what makes the process worthwhile.

‘It’s not just a tick box thing. This is genuinely to improve the service rather than to just do it.’

For Dudley, accreditation is not the end of the journey. As the service continues to grow, the team is building on the learning from IQILS, using it as a foundation for continued development and keeping quality improvement at the heart of what they do.

We would like to thank Louise and the liver service team at The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust for their time and are proud to have the service as part of the IQILS community.