A new partnership between East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, and the world-renowned Virginia Mason Institute in Seattle will place the patient at its centre, with a focus on a safety culture, reducing waste, and improving the experience of both patients and staff.
The non-profit Virginia Mason Institute, known for its world-class methodologies and innovations in healthcare, will provide guidance and support to the Trust. This collaboration is centred on implementing a proven approach that improves processes, reduces waste (of time, effort and resources), and enhances the overall patient experience:
- Better, safer, patient care: This new way of working will enable the Trust to prioritise patient care, making healthcare more accessible, efficient, and tailored to individual needs.
- Using resources better: By improving processes and making the most of how we use our time, the Trust can redirect resources to critical areas, ensuring more efficient and cost-effective care.
- Innovation and best practices: The collaboration will encourage the exchange of innovative ideas and best practices, promoting continuous improvement.
Staff at all levels will be trained and empowered to make changes and improvements, testing and measuring the impact and ensuring it’s shared and sustained.
Senior leaders in the Trust will visit the Virginia Mason Institute in Seattle in October, to see first-hand how this way of working has transformed the care delivered at the Virginia Mason Medical Centre – which has one of the best patient safety records in the world. The team will report back learning, including how the team in Seattle continuously improve the safety and quality of patient care, and how they best involve patients in changes and improvements.
This visit is included in the partnership contract with the Institute, and while flights and accommodation are being arranged by the Trust, expenses are being met by individuals.
Chief executive of the Trust, Adam Sewell-Jones said:
“Our vision is to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service. While we know our people go above and beyond every day to care for our patients, we also know that the experience of our patients and public can be inconsistent.
“This partnership will support us to work in a different way, ensuring that we continuously improve the experience and care of our patients, and work more efficiently – as they have achieved in Seattle.
“Involving patients and families in this work will be vital, and we look forward to working with you to create a better Trust.”
