Becoming a Lean Healthcare Organisation

I was having an interesting discussion over the weekend with an old friend about how to transform a functioning hospital into a Lean hospital given that many see 'Lean' as simply a tactical tool.

I realised that the things that differentiate ordinary hospitals from Lean hospitals also apply to other types of healthcare organisation (Mental Health, Primary Care etc) and I therefore thought I would start the discussion here about what the differences are between an ordinary healthcare organisation and a Lean one.

I believe there are ten key attributes which differentiate a Lean Healthcare organisation from ordinary one and these are:

1. An Improvement Board exists and has the active support and involvement of the The Board and including a Clinical Lead

2. An experienced service improvement team consisting of full-time people who are available as an organisation wide resource to facilitate and lead improvements

3. Local 'Lean Advocates' exist in all departments/functions. These are people who have a full understanding of Lean and how to implement it and take the initiative for local improvements with the support of the Service Improvement team

4. Widespread understanding throughout the trust about the tools, skills and approach to implementing Lean. This means a robust and open two way dialogue

5. Engagement across disciplines - so clinical, administrative and support service personnel are engaged in improvements

6. A focus on improving pathways and involving people from across the pathway (rather than just a focus on local improvements within limited areas)

7. A robust, proven and customised approach to leading improvements within the hospital (and engaging with the wider healthcare economy)

8. A system that is capturing and celebrating improvements that are occurring

9. A process of continuing professional development for the team to raise their skills

10. Learning from across the site and from other sectors - not all the best improvement ideas reside in Healthcare

I would be interested to know what you think......

Either comment below, email me at markeaton(a)amnis-uk.com or visit our website http://www.amnis-uk.com/.