South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust recently held a lively Quality Improvement (QI) conference, shining a light on the great work being done by Lean Practitioner and Service Improvement placements. Led by Gareth Gent and Michelle Geldart, the session brought staff together to explore how Lean methods are helping improve healthcare.
The goal of the conference was to help staff get to grips with Lean principles and give them practical tools to lead meaningful improvement projects. Attendees got a look at some QI projects, each showing how Lean thinking can cut down on waste and improve patient care.
Key takeaways included:
One of the main topics was how to spot and reduce waste in healthcare processes. The facilitators introduced the ‘waste wheel’ – a simple visual tool that highlights eight common types of waste: Transport, Resources, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Over-production, Over-processing, and Defects. It helped staff think about where things might be going wrong in their own areas and how to fix them.
To access waste wheel resources, please visit our improvement toolkit.
The highlight of the session was hearing about four improvement projects led by Lean Practitioner placement participants. The projects gave a great example of how Lean tools can be used in different clinical and operational settings:
The session wrapped up with a clear message: to keep using Lean thinking across the organisation and support staff as they grow into improvement leaders. Everyone was encouraged to keep working together.
This work strongly reflects the Boost ethos – empowering staff to lead change, build confidence, and drive improvement from the ground up. The Lean Practitioner projects showcased here are a brilliant example of how small, focused interventions can lead to big, sustainable improvements. There’s a lot we can learn from their approach, and it’s a great reminder of the value in sharing ideas and celebrating success across teams.
