Council OT team adopts Lean to effect service improvements
Bradford Council's Occupational Therapy service has adopted Lean working practices to great effect through a partnership with the Lean Healthcare Academy.
Lean strategies have been adopted by Bradford Council’s Occupational Therapy service through a public and private sector partnership designed to streamline working practices and improve across-the-board service delivery.
The project is already making an impact in enhancing efficiencies and cutting initial contact to allocation waiting times among service users.
The council’s Occupational Therapy service is working with the Ilkley-based Lean Healthcare Academy, which provides a platform for health and social care providers to adopt and implement Lean thinking as a foundation stone for sustainable service transformation.
They are similar to those already used widely in industry to simplify operational procedures, reduce waste, boost productivity and create efficiencies.
Bradford Council’s Occupational Therapy service assesses disabled people, their carers and disabled children and their families across the Bradford Metropolitan District, providing services, equipment and recommending adaptations that will allow them to live as independently and safely as possible within their own homes.
On average, the 65-strong department has to deal with some 150 17-years-and-over adult referrals a week - around 6,000 annually – the majority by direct contact from an individual service user, supplemented by others from hospitals, GPs, physiotherapists, carers, social workers and users’ families.
Bradford Council Occupational Therapy manager and Lean team leader Jane Pegg explains: “Around 70% of all people dealt with by the department come through to us via direct contact from an individual service user, so it was this area that we decided to tackle as the first stage of our Lean journey.”
An OT Lean team representing a cross-section of departmental roles was established at the end of November last year to shine the spotlight on all areas of the operation in close consultation with the Lean Healthcare Academy. The team mapped out the entire self-referral process in a bid to identify and eliminate wasteful practices.
Jane Pegg said: “We found that there were a total of 72 processes, which was taking between four to six weeks, and we have now been able to more than halve this to just 32 processes. We have set ourselves a decision-making target of two days - all with the ultimate aim of reducing the contact to allocation time for each referral to a minimum time possible.
“We now have several standard operating procedures in place that has allowed us to roll out the new process to other staff members within the Occupational Therapy service. At the same time, we confidently expect 80% of decisions to be made within the two-day target window.
“Already, we are able to see a real difference and we can address people’s needs more effectively – and much more quickly. Customer care is very important to us and Lean has helped us to plan and respond to the urgent need for change.
“It is a fantastic result and I am now confident that with the current resources we can make a real difference to the customer’s experience, while recognising that there is still much work to be done on our Lean journey as we look to build on our initial successes.”
Kathryn Lamb, Bradford Council’s Workforce Development Manager (Technology & e-learning), who has been leading on the implementation of Lean and is delivering a number of similar initiatives across services to adults, children and young people, said:
“The Occupational Therapy project is working really well and we are now more effectively demonstrating the benefits and value of the service. We have a duty to ensure that members of the public get the best value out of what we offer.”
Lean Healthcare Academy members have access to a range of services enveloping staff training, development and implementation support, and flexible online e-learning programmes.
Judith Clarkson, divisional director of e-academies, said: “The Bradford Council Lean team is to be congratultated on its achievements to date. In fact, we are delighted with the many successes that have been put in place with our partner NHS and Primary Care Trusts across West Yorkshire.
“We have helped them to introduce pathway projects that have restructured and modernised working practices, dramatically reduced waiting times and improved levels of patient care and safety, at the same time cutting costs.
“Together, we are making a real difference in providing an excellent and ever-improving service for service users across the entire region.”
The Lean healthcare academy -