LOCATION:

St Luke’s General Hospital, Carlow Kilkenny

 

THE PROBLEM:

Patient flow was identified as a key priority for improvement within St. Luke’s General Hospital and the Hospital Group IEHG. Increased numbers on TrolleyGar signalled a patient flow issue in the hospital which needed to be addressed.

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The scope of the project was to look at the patient journey/flow from the point that there was a decision to admit up until the patients was discharged from SLGH and including the navigational hub and discharge processes.

The aim of the project was to engage multiple stakeholders in a rapid improvement event.

 

THE SOLUTION:

A Rapid Improvement Event was held in the hospital over 4 days in April 2023. The current state was presented to the team on the first day and elements of the Lean methodology were adopted to facilitate multi-stakeholder engagement in the event. Solutions were identified, prioritised and implemented over a ninety-day period. These solutions included.

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• Educate stakeholders regarding the Visual Hospital process to ensure it runs to standard.

• Standardise ward whiteboards and huddles including use of visual hospital symbols.

• Improve ward round communication.

• Review and action delays in bed turnaround times.

• Review the use of discharge areas.

• Improved outcomes of length of stay meeting.

• Improve MDT weekly ward meeting to improve patient flow.

• Develop a directory of community services and improve links with the community.

• Ensure ready availability of up-to-date Clinical Guidelines for NCHD’s. 

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BENEFITS:

This project was a continuous improvement project that initiated in April 2023 but has continued to be continuously monitored and improved. The patient flow team educated the staff on the visual hospital process, the importance of patient flow and the responsibility of each staff member. They applied rigor to patient flow process to ensure that patients were not being unnecessary delayed. Significant improvement has been made in patients waiting on trolleys, with a 56% improvement in patients waiting on trolleys in 2024.​​​​​​​​​​​​