Making Waves June 2011 - James Paget University Hospitals

James Paget University Hospitals
NHS Foundation Trust
Transformation Update
The six work streams are making real progress, along with some of the supporting projects. The list is not exhaustive, and
new ideas for projects are always welcomed by the Transformation Board.
Work Stream 1: Improving the in-patient pathway
This incorporates the Length of Stay project, the primary goal of which is to achieve and maintain a reduction of 30,000 bed
days across the Trust’s combined elective and non-elective in-patient programme. Achieving this reduction should help the
Trust to make optimal use of its existing bed capacity, and create the stability in which to strategically plan future in-patient
services and provision.
Work Stream 2: Improving the out-patient pathway
This seeks to reduce DNA rates, improve first to follow-up ratios, and the productivity and cost effectiveness of outpatient
services. The first phase of the DNA project is to reduce the Trust-wide DNA (Do Not Attends) to 4%, with the second phase
focusing on reducing this rate to 2.5%, which will lead to savings in excess of £0.5million.
Work Stream 3: Procurement
The procurement work stream focuses on reducing all procurement-influenced non-pay expenditure by around
12.5%. The project team will therefore be seeking savings from a combination of approaches, including
achieving better prices with suppliers, maximising the opportunities for recovering VAT, raising price
awareness amongst all staff groups, improving stock control and reducing waste.
Work Stream 4: Reducing Locum, Agency and overtime spend
This incorporates several projects, including e-rostering and reducing agency/locum.
The overall goal is to achieve greater value for money in respect of pay costs,
e.g. by reducing the Trust’s reliance on costly agency or locum staff.
Work Stream 5: Doing More for Less
This incorporates many subsidiary projects, including:
• A review of pharmacy services, and bringing FP10s in-house;
• A radiology review, including demand management;
• A pathology review, including demand management;
• A review of catering and domestic services;
• A review of ward-based roles, to improve essential patient care;
• A project aimed at maximising income from better use of Trust
infrastructure.
Work Stream 6: Patient Safety, Patient Experience and
CQUINs
This continues to build on the foundation of work that was
commenced in 2010/11 to improve patient safety, enhance the
patient experience, and to achieve quality-related income targets.
New Patient Appointment Reminder Service
Patients who fail to arrive for appointments, known as Did Not Attends (DNAs), are costing
For every appointment missed, the hospital loses income. Therefore a new system is being
piloted in three clinical areas – Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics and ENT (ear, nose and throat) to send
reminders to patients of their impending appointment. The aim is to improve efficiency, reduce the
number of DNAs and provide advanced notification of cancellations and rearrangements so these
appointments can be refilled.
An automated call will play a message asking the patient to confirm they are the patient
mentioned by pressing the number 1 on their keypad. This will be checked by asking them to enter
their date of birth. As long as this date of birth matches our records the message will continue to
tell them their appointment details and ask them to press the appropriate number on the keypad
to confirm, cancel or rearrange their appointment.
Reducing the number of DNAs can make a significant difference in reducing the number of
wasted appointments which could be filled by other patients. The anticipated reduction in the
number of DNAs will make this investment cost-effective in the long term.
www.jpaget.nhs.uk
www.jpaget.nhs.uk Making Waves Newsletter June 2011 Page 9