Airedale NHS Trust reinforces commitment to Lean
Airedale NHS Trust's Head of Lean Improvement Sue Speak is one of the UK's foremost champions of Lean.
Sue Speak, Head of Lean Improvement at Airedale NHS Trust, is fast becoming one of the country’s leading authorities on the implementation of Lean.
Since taking over her role early last year, Sue has led on the delivery of over 90 Lean projects at Airedale General Hospital, near Keighley – initiatives that transform working practices in the NHS, reduce waiting times, improve patient care and safety, and cut costs.
The journey has been undertaken in partnership with the Ilkley-based Lean Healthcare Academy, itself a leader in the field of training, implementation and sustaining activities that deliver service improvement across the whole health economy
The academy has a dedicated training facility at Airedale Hospital, where Sue is based – and her remit in the world of Lean is constantly evolving.
Formerly matron for hospital midwifery at Airedale, Sue applied for and was accepted as the Royal College of Midwives representative on the National Patient Safety Agency, a reporting and learning service seeking to put into practice safer neuraxial devices – needles used in anaesthesia.
It involves attending four meetings a year in London to ensure that recommendations by Professor Brian Toft, Professor of Patient Safety in the Department of Health and Life Sciences at Coventry University, regarding the development of spinal needles that cannot be mistakenly connected to a Leur syringe are implemented.
The project is due for completion in November, 2011, and Sue attended her first meeting earlier this month (Sept) at the Royal College of Pathologists.
She is also in demand as a keynote speaker at high profile Lean-related events and conferences.
Sue was invited to speak at the Health Service Journal’s conference in Birmingham, on September 22, about the Lean pathway project introduced in maternity services at Airedale in 2007, when waiting times for “small for date” baby scans were reduced from up to six weeks to within 24 hours in most cases.
She has also accepted an invitation to speak on the same subject at the Royal College of Midwives’ annual meeting in Manchester in October, a matter of days after she has addressed an Audit Commission meeting in Warrington on Lean, with quality and efficiency as the remit.
In November, she will shine the spotlight on Airedale's Lean successes at Healthcare Events’ Lean and Six Sigma Annual Scottish Conference in Edinburgh.
Sue said: “Airedale General Hospital has really embraced Lean. We have trained over a fifth of the 2,600-strong workforce in varying Lean techniques, which has enabled us to undertake over 90 projects to date.
“These range from small areas that needed straightening out utilising Lean 6S techniques to improve workplace organisation productivity to major rapid improvement events involving multi-disciplinary groups.
“For example, in pharmacy we looked at the service offered to the wards. Porters have worked alongside pharmacists, nurses and consultants to develop a new, safer service that will benefit our service users.
“It is a great pleasure to be asked to speak at major conferences throughout the country, letting everyone know what our Lean Journey at Airedale has been like. Hopefully, as a direct result, others will gain enthusiasm and motivation to try out Lean techniques in their hospitals and learn from Airedale’s experience.”
Lean Healthcare Academy manager Wendy Gauntley said: “Sue has become one of the UK’s leading advocates of Lean – a true Lean champion. Airedale has evolved through learning by doing. It is an extremely successful formula and one we are strongly advising other NHS Trusts to replicate.”
Visit the Lean Healthcare Academy at: http://www.leanhealthcareacademy.co.uk/
ENDS