UK Training Industry Press Releases

Healthcare organisations - including hospitals - are giving up too soon on ‘Lean' based improvement initiatives, according to specialist healthcare quality, innovation and productivity improvement enabler, Amnis.

Amnis' managing director, Mark Eaton, explained: "A number of improvement initiatives underway in the healthcare sector are based on the concepts of ‘Lean' and ‘Lean Sigma' but, like many organisations in manufacturing where Lean has its origins, there is already evidence that some healthcare organisations are giving up on these initiatives before they realise real results or are simply changing processes and doing nothing to change the underlying culture and behaviours."

According to Eaton - author of the book ‘Lean for practitioners' - the top five reasons why this happens are:

1.       Lean is not a Board issue but, instead, is launched at divisional or even individual department level. This leads rapidly to fragmentation of activity and dissipation of effort.

2.       Not ensuring that the productivity improvements expected through Lean are aligned with the organisation's objectives. This leads to Lean being ‘out prioritised' by other activities and put on hold and, once it is on hold, it is one step from being mothballed.

3.       Not building on previous experience. This is where Lean tries to undo all of the good things that have gone on - and are currently going on - and this builds resentment from frontline teams.