Obtaining value in healthcare is not only about reducing financial cost, but considering how waste impacts on all aspects of a team’s ability to complete their essential work. ELFT is supporting teams across the organisation to reduce waste and provide higher value care, benefitting both patients and providers. Below you will find resources and tools to support reduction in waste, as well as team’s stories of applying these to their system.
Have you ever looked around your place of work and considered that there are lots of opportunities to improve the value we provide to our service users by removing waste in our system? The concept of waste is defined by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement as “resources expended in money, time and/or personnel, that do not add value for the patient, family or community”[1]. Waste reduction is a key element of the programme of work that supports us to Improve Value.
ELFT is supporting teams from across the organisation to reduce waste and provide high value care and you can read several case studies from different pieces below
Identifying and tackling waste has the potential to:
The 8 waste tool is a simple way to help you understand the different opportunities that might exist in your service to improve value. The tool categorises different types of process waste; the bits of a process that do not add value for staff, service users or those we serve.
Why not have a go at using the 8 Wastes tool in your workplace and see what you find? If you identify a waste that you want to reduce, you can contact your local Improvement Advisor for support in how you might use QI to help. Share any success or learning with the QI Team and contact the Trust’s Financial Viability Team via sarah.barnett6@nhs.net , if you feel your ideas for waste reduction can lead to reduced costs.
[1] Bueno B, Leo JD, Macfie H IHI Leadership Alliance. In: Trillion dollar Checkbook: reduce waste and cost in the US health care system. Boston: IHI, 2019
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