The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) has improved the way patients presenting with Sepsis are screened, as another milestone in their exciting five-year partnership with the Virginia Mason Institute (VMI) in Seattle is reached.
There were a number of big successes and positive outcomes as a team from SaTH completed a Rapid Process Improvement Week (RPIW) for the Trust’s second Value Stream – Sepsis.
The Value Stream was focused on the recognition and screening of Sepsis and was based on the Acute Medical Unit (AMU) at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford (PRH). The Value Stream aims to ensure patients are treated for Sepsis in a consistent and timely manner which will improve patient care and save lives.
Staff Nurse Viola Jones, who was the Value Stream’s Process Owner, said: “The work during the RPIW involved colleagues coming together as an ‘Away Team’ comprising of staff from AMU PRH and colleagues from other departments who offered ‘fresh eyes and challenge’. A ‘Home Team’ working in PRH AMU tested the ideas during the week with the intention of looking at ways to improve this aspect of patient care.
“Highlights of the week saw every patient seen with a screening tool for Sepsis. Previously no patients were observed with such a tool. All patients seen during the week also had a basic sepsis review on arrival, compared with zero previously. The team also found that 80% of patients had interventions undertaken in public areas. This reduced to 0% by the end of the week meaning patients are being treated with improved privacy and dignity.”
Simon Wright, Chief Executive at SaTH, added: “The ‘Away Team’ reported some key learning from the week which highlighted some really positive findings including what many of us already know—that our staff have a real passion for improving patient care. They also found that change is hard but rewarding and easier when you put the patient first. This is important to keep in mind as our patients should be at the heart of everything we do.
“Our Virginia Mason Sensei has told us that our first two RPIWs (the first focused on Respiratory) have seen extraordinary results. We might not always see such good results but it’s pleasing that we’ve started so well and the challenge for each of the Value Streams is to maintain performance over the 90-days.”
SaTH’s partnership with VMI for the next five years sees the Trust working with NHS Improvement and four other Trusts as we roll out the learning and engagement across our organisation, embarking on the same journey which took VMI from a challenged hospital to ‘USA Hospital of the Decade’ and one of the safest hospitals in the world.
As well as supporting teams in respiratory medicine and sepsis care Value Streams the Kaizen Promotion Office (KPO) Team – which is supporting our VMI work— have provided taster sessions and training for over 280 staff.
Mr Wright concluded: “This is just the start of our journey of improvement but I’m delighted with how it’s begun and look forward to more staff getting involved as we continue our journey to providing the safest and kindest care in the NHS.”