Patient waiting times reduced by 54% for major NHS Trust

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Doctor and assistant nurse operating for help patient from dangerous emergency case .Surgical instruments on the sterile table in the emergency operation room in the hospital.Health care and Medical

The Challenge

A major North-West NHS Trust needed to deliver improvements to patient safety and quality. It faced a significant financial challenge from reduced levels of activity and ineffective flow across the orthopaedic patient pathway.

Further challenges were faced due to silo working, lack of personal accountability in key areas, and below average levels of employee engagement.

Unipart Consultancy was commissioned to identify key areas of focus which would be most impactful on patient experience and financial efficiency in parallel. Following deep current state analysis, theatres were identified as the most suitable area.

The Solution

Unipart Consultancy engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, including scheduling teams, theatre staff, and senior management, to examine processes, measures, capabilities and organisation within the value stream to identify key improvement areas. 

Using the creative problem solving tools of The Unipart Way, Unipart Consultancy transformed the culture by empowering teams to identify and take ownership of the development and implementation of improvement opportunities.

New ideas, resulting from root cause analysis and structured solution design, were then implemented with the support of Unipart Consultancy and the Theatre and Surgery Division Leadership Team.

Embedding continuous improvement ways of working within the theatre teams, they were then able to:

  • Redesign the booking and scheduling systems
  • Redesign the ‘on-the-day’ theatre processes
  • Reconfigure the departmental layouts to maximise space effectiveness and team efficiency.

54%

Reduction in patient waiting times

The Impact

The programme successfully delivered significant performance increases, including:

  • £1m additional revenue generation due to a 35% increase in theatre activity
  • 54% reduction in patient waiting times
  • 35% reduction in access times
  • 27% reduction in late finishes
  • 20% reduction in late starts
  • Theatre utilisation increase to 90% (from 77%)
  • Improved patient experience and standardised pathway adherence
  • Increased employee engagement

Staff noted they feel that the legacy Unipart Consultancy left behind lies in the autonomy and empowerment given to them.

Doctor and assistant nurse operating for help patient from dangerous emergency case .Surgical instruments on the sterile table in the emergency operation room in the hospital.Health care and Medical

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