Service Improvement: NHS Interview Questions
Improving services for the people who use them and the wider public — whether front-line services or those that keep the organisation running — through small changes or larger pieces of work.
Bands 1–4 (Level 1)
- Give an example of a time you found a better way of doing something.
- Describe a time you saw a patient or relative receive poor service.
- How do you keep the way you personally work up to date?
- Tell me about a time you introduced something new in your work.
Band 5 (Level 2)
- Tell me about a time you found a better way of doing something that benefited patients and families.
- Describe a time you suggested improvements to patient care or services.
- What have you personally done to improve performance in your work area?
- What do you do to get to know colleagues and build stronger teamwork?
Bands 6–7 (Level 3)
- Describe an improvement project led by others that you contributed your own input to.
- Tell me about a time you identified a complex service issue.
- Talk me through a time you found a new or different way to improve a service.
- How do you track the progress or impact of service improvement in your team?
Bands 8–9 (Level 4)
- Tell me about a time you spotted a chance to improve a service and drove it forward for patients or staff.
- Give an example of a time you spotted a shortcoming and acted without waiting to be told.
- What have you done to improve the performance of a service within your area of responsibility?
- How would you measure whether a service improvement was consistent and had real impact?
What good answers contain
Listen for genuine pride in improving services, openness to better ways of working, a willingness to act on ideas (including other people's), and some thought about how the impact of an improvement is measured.
Signs of a weak answer
Watch for treating improvement as someone else's responsibility, accepting lower quality as long as work is on time, a fixed way of doing things, or no consideration of how progress would be measured.
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