Reducing length of stay (LoS)
This is one of NHS Improvement’s top QIPP initiative that has the potential to reduce bed utilisation by 20%. Take a look at these case studies:
Breast 23 Hour Model
Shifting procedures from inpatients to day cases
Communication Alert Systems
Elective Inpatient Pathways
Clinical Decision Making
Enhanced Recovery case studies and pathways
See also the NHS Institute’s section on reducing length of stay and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s improvement stories including:
Emergency department length of stay independently predicts inpatient length of stay
Reducing Length of Stay in Intensive Care
AM admissions/PM discharges can reduce length of stay discharges
Does sharing process differences reduce patient length of stay in the emergency department?
eQIPP website
NHS Improvement’s website dedicated to the QIPP agenda. Featured this month: Stroke
Read October’s Stroke Improvement bulletin
Improving access to psychological therapy after stroke
Early Supported Discharge (ESD) resource
Going up a gear: practical steps to improve stroke care
This resource highlights the key themes and learning from the 2009/10 projects and includes ‘top tips’ that have emerged from the projects to help others as they make improvements in stroke care.
Delivering transformational change
You may find the following resources helpful:
This guide from AMNIS provides practical advice to those healthcare organisations contemplating the challenges set out in the White Paper ‘Liberating the NHS’.
Integrated Service Improvement Programme (ISIP) roadmap for transformational change Click on the elements of the roadmap for more information.
NHS Evidence’s key topic on transformational change includes links to reports, guidance, websites and tools.
Leading Change: Why Transformational Efforts Fail by John P Kotter from the Welsh NHS Confederation.
This month’s tool: Flow
In the NHS, flow is the movement of patients, information or equipment between departments, staff groups or organisations as part of their pathway of care.
This tool is described in more detail at:
p. 10 of NHS Scotland’s A Guide to Service Improvement
NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement
NHS Improvement Scotland
Institute for Healthcare Improvement
This bulletin is brought to you by Library and Knowledge Services. It aims to keep you up-to-date with clinical governance issues. At the beginning of each month, a librarian will update the bulletin with relevant information published in the preceding month. If there are areas you think we also need to cover, please let us know.