Lean in Healthcare has very rapidly become a key focus for delivering more with less. Is it a panacea for all ills?  Before we run head long towards such a false hope, we should ask what are the parallels with manufacturing industry that make Lean appropriate to a completely different setting such as a modern healthcare provider ?

Undoubtedly the health care agenda is more complex than that of any commercial organisation, but at its heart many of the core objectives have direct parallels: For Example

Manufacturing objectives:

• Higher quality products
• Just in time availability
• Single transactions
  

Health objectives:

• Better health outcomes
• 18 week waits 
• Improved patient experience  

To illustrate this, consider the way an acute hospital operates today and compare this with a traditionally run factory

Today's acute hospital can be considered as an industrial-scale healthcare provider with a large number of people, moving slowly through the diagnostic and treatment process at any point in time. The patient experience is a series of small contacts for consultation or tests, separated by significant periods when nothing is happening or at least nothing appears to be happening. The overall elapsed time is long with plenty of opportunities for something to go wrong. The internal perspective is frustrating for nurses, doctors and managers – all working hard to overcome the challenges of a system that doesn't quite work as effectively and efficiently as we would like.
 
Compare this to our traditionally-run  factory, which is made up of many discrete stages of production each planned to optimise their individual efficiency in isolation from the rest of the system. When one stage is completed long delays occur whilst the next stage of production is planned with the product slowly moving through the factory alongside many others; very similar to the hospital of today.

In contrast, the Lean factory is a series of intimately-linked processes allowing rapid, controlled flow with anything that doesn't directly add value being  eliminated. The result is rapid transit, greater efficiency, better quality, lower cost and a more flexible and customer-oriented service. No less important is its capacity to provide a more engaging and rewarding working environment.

The challenge now is to apply Lean principles effectively and sensitively into the more complex healthcare environment.

The prize for getting it right is great: reduced deficits, compliance with 18 week referral to treatment targets and a growing body of evidence of improved health outcomes.

The Consultancy Company brings both the Lean experience from manufacturing industry and a deep understanding of the dynamics of the NHS and is building a strong reputation for Lean in Healthcare.

To find out more please contact Peter Hopkins on 01865 841177 or by email to peter.hopkins@the-consultancy.co.uk