Value – What is it? Why does it matter? And where can it be seen across the Trust?

 25th August 2019

An interview with Dr Mohit Venkataram, ELFT’s Executive Director of Commercial Development.

A common misconception is that ‘Value’ is just about cost reduction but it is so much more than that;  Value is not just in finances being released but value is in time , value is in effort put by staff and value is in the ability to re-purpose our efforts effectively and smartly. With Value being one of the Trust’s High Priority Areas we’re endeavouring to use QI to create Value across our directorates.

According to Mohit our patients and our staff have told us that there are a number of areas within the Trust where our resources are being wasted and creating value in these areas could result in better patient care.

“Creating value matters because our staff and our patients tell us that there are a number of areas we are wasting the resources that can be better invested in improving care for our patients”

Many teams across the Trust have been creating value through various successful campaigns; reducing incidents in the wards, reducing number of sickness days, reducing the use of agency staff. Having Value as a High Priority area will allow these projects to be captured and rolled out trust wide.

“We have been extremely successful with our staff in delivering great services to our patients and this is the opportunity to deliver the leadership of trust finances in the hands of our fantastic staff and patients so that  we can invest the resources within our services”

But how do we fit QI into this work? Well according to Mohit you can’t create value without QI;

“QI is the bedrock on which our organisation has delivered  process improvement, through the use of scientifically proven tools and techniques. The use of QI will allow teams to measure the improvement and achievement, plan systematically, have agreed parameters of delivery and agree if the success in delivery matches the aims of the project.”

When people are asked how they would measure value, one of the first things they will say is undoubtedly cost, cost reduction etc. But increasing value isn’t just about reducing cost Mohit says-

“The concept of increasing value is about

Giving ownership of the process to our staff and believing in them.  It’s about rebasing the 100% of the budget in a way that waste is taken out from the perspective of staff and patients. It’s also about looking at the assets in the population to reduce duplication and transforming services to improve the reach of the services.”

ELFT staff are working hard to create Value already. A great example being the ‘Violence Reduction’ QI projects that have reduced staff sickness and improved safety for staff”.

“This initiative is a real good example of how we can create value by improving quality of care.”

Another fantastic initiative shared by ELFT staff is the review of the Trust’s procurement of printing services and use of paper across the Trust. Teams have also been working on the review of the trust services that are provided in duplication across different services and how this can be shared to create a single service across the Trust.

“The support from the team to review the use of print services in a way that we can reduce the use of paper and transform how we use technology has been phenomenal “

The Trust is supporting QI teams to create value in a multitude of ways; The next wave of the Improvement Leaders Programme will see a number of teams come up with ideas to create value and reduce waste using QI methodology. In addition to these initiatives, a dedicated intranet page has been created that allows people to capture ideas across a range of themes for creating value. The staff have been voting on these ideas, the idea that receives the most votes will receive support from the Financial Viability Team with the intention of having successful ideas showcased across the Trust for Adoption or adaptation as appropriate.

“I am looking forward to working closely with these QI initiatives.”