Redesigning Hospital Care Program

Achievements at a glance

Program activity

Recent achievements of the Redesigning Hospital Care program (RHCP) include:

• 32 health services including Ambulance Victoria have participated in the program to date
• over 250 redesign projects both locally initiated and specifically funded through the RHCP program
• projects have focused on a range of areas, along the entire patient journey including:
  • Emergency departments, theatre and wards
  • Specialist clinics
  • Imaging, pathology and pharmacy
  • Transport, stock and inventory management.

Outcomes: Enhanced capability to create, sustain and spread improvements

• Health services have reported that over 11,300 staff have been exposed to training related to redesign. This represents approximately 11% of the current Victorian public hospital workforce¹
• Organisational structures, systems and processes in place to support improvement including the establishment of redesign units, redesign frameworks, formal redesign training programs and reporting and accountability frameworks
• Partnership with Melbourne University to provide a tailored program for health professionals in operations management and improvement practice.

Outcomes: Redesigning processes to improve efficiency, access, safety and cost

• Health services see a return from RHCP projects as released value (more patients treated with the same resource). In all projects examined to date, there was a positive return on investment.
• The projects have demonstrated non-financial benefits in terms of improved quality, improved patient satisfaction and staff satisfaction.

All of the projects that have been completed have shown measurable improvement against at least one important, pre-defined variable.

These include:

• Reduced length of stay
• Increased patient throughput
• More efficient resource use (such as agency staff, stock, and transport)
• Reduction in adverse events (falls, medication errors, pressure injuries)
• Improved transfer or referral time (to allied health, ward, ambulance, or other transport)
• Better nursing and ward processes (reduced handover time, or increased direct nursing time)
• More accurate dispensing (time, accuracy, and appropriateness).

Footnote:
1. Data provided by Planning and Analysis Unit from payroll and survey data. Reported as at 30 June 2010.