The NHS is in crisis and is struggling to cope with the rising number of hospital admissions. In December 2015, more than 5 000 patients in England experienced delays in being discharged from hospital. Delays in transfer of care resulted in a loss of more than 150 000 bed days in the same month*. Hospitals are under severe pressure with this increase in demand and we need to change how hospitals work in order to solve this crisis. (*The King’s Fund Quarterly Monitoring Report qmr.kingsfund.org.uk/2016/18/data)

The Improvement Academy has been working with acute trusts across Yorkshire and Humber to find new and novel ways to improve patient flow. The underlying principle is to ensure that patients receive their treatment at the right time, in the right place and in full.

We collaborated with Scarborough General Hospital to implement Operation Fresh Start (OFS) based on this principle. This novel approach to patient flow has empowered ward teams to deliver treatment at the right time, in the right place and in full. This intervention has improved bed occupancy in the hospital and significantly reduced length of stay in the medical wards.

We are now working with acute trusts in Hull, Bradford, Airedale and Sheffield and are jointly developing interventions to improve patient flow based on what we have learned so far.

You can find out more about Patient Flow here.