Working together as part of the Older people’s mental health Rapid Process Improvement Workshop (RPIW)

So far 27 people have attended the workshop and debate has certainly been lively, useful and informative.

On Monday, Vincent Badu, deputy chief executive and executive director of partnerships and strategy, gave an overview of the scheme; setting out areas of focus including objectives and outcomes.

The rest of the day centred on multiple exercises to introduce people to supporting data and the lean principles on which the RPIW is based.

The following day, refreshed and ready to go, participants were divided into four groups and given a specific area to focus on. Using the new knowledge of the principles, the task groups
were keen to apply these to find sustainable solutions to their identified areas of improvement.

It is encouraging to see that the mix of table top exercises, group discussion and problem solving has already produced a number of innovative suggestions.

Mary Burton, a carer who has been involved from the start of the workshop, said: “It’s been great to be a part of this and to offer my experience to help improve the care and service that can be provided.

“I have really enjoyed working with people from different backgrounds and look forward to seeing the fruits of our labour and the long-term impact on the wards from these suggested improvements.”

The working groups are now looking at procedures to see how we can work better with other agencies to improve data tracking, patient flow and pathways. As well as paper based exercises, one group has carried out a practical exercise to test the 5s approach (sort, set in order, shine, standardise and sustain) on Orchards wards looking at re-organisation of areas, paperwork and procedures.

The workshop finishes on Friday 15 March and a full review of lessons learnt throughout the week, key objectives and next steps will be discussed.

All improvements that have been identified as part of the RPIW will be rolled out to all other older people’s mental health wards between March and April of this year.