Overview
Introducing
Service
Improvement
By Decision Support & Service Improvement
Manager, Trevor Richardson.
Chief Executive Officer, Helen Mason.
I’m delighted that this issue of Checkup
focuses on quality improvement. We all
have the ability to improve the way we work
and improve the way we deliver care to our
patients, their families and our communities.
The Service Improvement Unit (SIU)
supports each of us in our efforts to make
a difference. As I read through the profiles
of the members of our SIU team, I was
struck by their great qualifications, diverse
experience, and real passion for making
a difference for our communities. The
stories from across our organisation about
improvement projects that are happening all
reflect the passion of our teams to make a
difference for our people.
During my year away, I was based at the Institute for
Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in Boston. It is wonderful to
come back to the Bay of Plenty and see that the approaches
I learnt while I was away are being used here to such good
effect. We’re beginning to see the real impact of using the IHI
Model for Improvement. I encourage you to look at the IHI
Open School Quality Improvement course which is available
free to all BOPDHB staff and is also being made available to
our community providers.
The Model for Improvement empowers each of us to make
improvements through small tests of change. It’s a simple,
yet very powerful tool for accelerating improvement. This
model has been used successfully by hundreds of healthcare
organisations around the world to improve many different
healthcare processes and outcomes. I believe that with all
of us empowered through quality improvement, we’ll take
BOPDHB from good to great.
2
The Service Improvement Unit (SIU) evolved
from a small project team established during
the Tauranga Hospital rebuild. When the
majority of the rebuild was completed in 2008
the residual team transitioned into enhancing
service delivery within the Provider Arm. We
were lucky to have Fiona Burns join SIU in 2011
as this allowed the team to include an essential
Eastern Bay perspective.
Within SIU there is a
There is also a growing
small core group of
pool of BOPDHB employees
programme/project
who have regular day-jobs
managers who are
and link into SIU for project
experts in the field of
mentoring.
service improvement.
There is also a growing
pool of BOPDHB employees who have regular day-jobs and link
into SIU for project mentoring. These are always people with
specialty or subject matter expertise.
The SIU is a dedicated service created for the specific purpose of
supporting organisational improvement for the ultimate benefit of
the BOPDHB’s patients, families and communities. The mission of
the SIU is to facilitate and drive innovation and continuous quality
improvement across the organisation and our success is derived
exclusively from successful outcomes for our patients.
Although the SIU reports through to the Chief Operating Officer,
Pete Chandler, connection with the rest of the organisation is
realised by developing and maintaining relationships with other
DHB project resources including those within the Provider Arm,
Corporate Services, Information Management, Planning &
Funding and Quality & Patient Safety.
SIU activities also support delivery of the Integrated Healthcare
Strategy and the Health Excellence actions. Our primary focus will
be the impact on the patient /customer at the centre of all changes
proposed or implemented.
We view quality improvement as an activity or outcome not a
department. There are a growing number of ‘project people’ in the
organisation linking into the SIU as extended whānau. We hold
meetings every second Monday which are open for anyone in the
organisation undertaking projects to attend and explore synergies,
share, ask advice or give us some advice. Often managers with
project people are keen for them to attend.
Front cover – Compilation of BOPDHB staff who are IHI Open School Graduates
of Quality Improvement