Virtual College Lean Healthcare Academy 'Award Night Success'
National training provider, Virtual College, held its annual Lean Healthcare Academy Conference and Awards event this week in Leeds. 180 healthcare professionals from across the UK attended the event where 27 finalists presented their lean process improvements during the day, followed by a 'BAFTA' style awards event in the evening.
“It was a tremendous success”, said Judith Clarkson, Divisional Director of the Lean Healthcare Academy, “We have held these awards for the past 4 years and each year they have grown, both in the number of entries and more importantly, the quality of lean efficiency projects seen within the healthcare sector. Having spent an early part of my career in Japan and Motor manufacturing, where lean principles are embedded within their culture, it’s great to see the same business practices being used within the health service delivering some amazing results. This event was a reward to these individuals who are making a real difference to the efficiency of their organisations, to celebrate in their success and to share best practice.”
The winners announced on the evening were:
Best Impact on Patient Experience Award: South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust
Improving the Patient Experience for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients (COPD) in Sunderland.
A project designed to prevent avoidable admissions by making use of new technology to improve clinical decision making and enable the team to push the boundaries of community care during acute exacerbation requiring time limited oxygen therapy. During the first 4 months of the pilot an 85% success rate was seen in admission prevention in the target group, with cost reductions of 55%.
Sustained Improvement Award: Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Jeep’s Disease: Changing Practice
This project was designed to improve outcomes for patients undergoing Pilonidal Sinus operations, including reducing healing times and pain and enabling patients to return to work early. The results of this project have been sustained for five years. One particularly impactful example shows a patient who was able to return to work within 4 weeks of the new regime after having been out of work for 5 years following their initial operation. The project revealed huge cost savings with an average reduction of £836.46 per episode of care and these savings continue.
Pioneers in Tele-care / Tele-health Award: Southern Health & Social Care Trust
Implementation of Remote Tele-monitoring for People with Long Term Conditions.
The project was designed to improve the health and wellbeing of patients with Long Term conditions living in the area. Tele-health has helped patients to understand the importance of medication and lifestyle concordance, identifying triggers before exacerbation, which has offered a greater opportunity for patients to take responsibility for their own health. 86% patients strongly agreed that the monitoring system assisted them in managing their health on a daily basis, and further benefits include reduced reliance on secondary care, optimised use of staffing resources and the ability to better meet the growing needs of patients with Long Term chronic conditions.
Lean Champion of the Year Award: Richard Wylde
Airedale NHS Foundation Trust
Richard has tirelessly worked within Airedale to implement Lean across the organisation and has successfully applied the Productive Series methodologies in the Maternity department. A great success of Richard’s has been with the community midwives, significantly reducing the number of faxes sent saving 355 working hours – these hours have been put back into the service increasing the appointment slots in the ante-natal clinics.
Productive Series Award: Healthcare Improvement Scotland (International Award)
Releasing Time to Care Implementation Programme
This project implements the Productive Series programme requiring close working relationships with all partners including the Scottish Government Health Directorate and NHS Education for Scotland. The whole system approach across NHS Scotland is designed to create a culture of continuous improvement whilst also being sensitive to the current economic climate. It aims to provide a high level of person centred quality care.
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Time to Care – The spread of ‘Productives’ across an acute setting.
This project is intended to embed a culture change with the training provided at ward level at a time that suits. The focus is on enabling staff to lead and manage change within their own areas. A pilot for the Productive Ward programme in 2007, 46 wards are currently active with a target for all wards having started the programme within 2012. The savings currently stand at over £50,000, with a mean increase of 19% of registered nurse time which has been redirected into patient care. These changes have been sustained and spread from improvements in the environment to the way teams communicate.
Embracing Technology Award: University Hospital of North Staffordshire
Embracing Technology – Pharmacy Robot
This project involved the introduction of the automated dispensing system which has led to improved efficiency and reduced turnaround times whilst enhancing quality and patient safety. The robot service has reduced the number of errors below the national benchmark and the project has acted as a catalyst to enable ‘one stop dispensing’ with pharmacists and technicians spending more time on wards. Error rates and turnaround times have reduced and less delayed discharges resulting in reduced length of stay.
Sharing Best Practice Award: RL Sleeper
Prosthetic Rehabilitation: the use of best Practice to drive quality and cost effectiveness
This project is designed to research, develop and produce evidence based practice guidelines for prosthetic prescription and improve services based on life costing of products to improve prescription, reduce patient visits and introduce cost efficiencies. RSL Steeper are a prosthetic service provider working in partnership with the NHS to provide clinical services. They have produced evidence based guidelines derived from a critical review of available research evidence and professional consensus of opinion and provided guidance on specific prosthetic components. These guidelines have been published in book form and are supplied to all prosthetic branches in the UK.
Improving Services through Training & Development Award: Royal Free NHS Trust
Implementation of a hospital-wide ‘diabetes care bundle’ to improve inpatient safety
A trust wide initiative on the implementation of a hospital wide diabetes care bundle involving intensive training of all medical staff. Bespoke training was provided to each area and involved direct contact with clinical staff. Over 1,000 staff have been trained directly with many more being trained informally and opportunistically. The training involved clinical engagement with ward staff and their honest and open feedback regarding the new protocols was actively sought and became embedded into those protocols. This training is fully embedded into hospital policy, and mandatory and cyclical training of all clinical staff is fundamental to the continuous improvement and evolution of the work. As a result of the training an audit has shown a 70% reduction in hypoglycaemia. Nurses have also reported an increased confidence in managing inpatient diabetes.
Special Achievement Award: Susan Speak
Head of Lean Improvement, Airedale NHS Foundation Trust
Susan Speak has remained tireless and irrepressable in utilising lean tools to improve her organisation. Enthusiastically embracing lean whilst working as a midwife clinician and front line professional, but not content with improving her own area, our winner progressed to providing lean support across her trust. A holder of both the Business Improvement Techniques levels 2 & 3 qualifications and a prolific sharer of best practice, many have benefitted from the time and experience she has given to help other individuals and trusts.
People’s Choice Award: Bradford District Care Trust
Adoption, Spread and Progress of Productive Mental Health Ward programme in a Learning Disability Inpatient Unit.
This project utilises the Productive Mental Health Ward initiative which is a key component of the Trust’s QIPP agenda. (Quality, Innovation, Productivity & Prevention - QIPP - is a large scale transformation agenda within the NHS involving all staff). Bradford District Care Trust have been engaged in the programme since 2010 and results show that direct care time has increased by 25% with a significant reduction in both reported incidents and interruptions to direct care. At the same time the team have been able to increase job satisfaction amongst staff – making this a project that has positively impacted on all areas of the unit.