At South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Lean methodology is at the heart of continuous improvement. The Trust empowers staff to identify inefficiencies, reduce waste, and improve processes in a way that’s practical, sustainable, and focused on patient care. This approach is embedded across departments – from clinical services to training delivery – ensuring that every improvement adds value and supports staff in delivering high-quality care.
At the Trust, the process for completing Root Cause Analysis (RCA) reports ahead of case review panels was causing delays. The reliance on email exchanges between clinical teams – IPC, nursing, medical, and pharmacy – meant responses were often slow, leading to panels being postponed and learning opportunities missed.
The team mapped out the current process and identified time as the biggest area of waste. Reports were taking anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks to complete, with most of that time spent chasing input. To tackle this, they introduced a new approach: a one-hour structured MS Teams meeting with all relevant clinical colleagues present to complete the RCA collaboratively.
This improvement continues to evolve. The team now reviews and refines the process during each structured meeting and actively seeks feedback from presenting teams. The next step is to roll this approach out to MRSA and MSSA bacteraemia cases.
This project shows how small changes to everyday processes can lead to big improvements in efficiency and quality. By working together and thinking differently, South Tees staff are helping to create a more responsive and collaborative healthcare environment.
