We would like to invite you to join our Operation FLOW 2 roadshows in November and December to find out more about the important work taking place to support our staff and make our system safer and more efficient, particularly over the busy winter period.
Significant progress has been made since Operation FLOW 1 and our successful firebreak to rapidly decompress our acute hospitals earlier in the year. But we know the level of pressure currently being felt by staff across our system.
Professor Jann Gardner, Chief Executive of NHS Lanarkshire, said: “Everyone is working as hard as they can to do the best that they can, and we have a deep appreciation of how challenged the situation is across all areas – in acute and in primary care.
“Operation FLOW is built on the learning and experience of our clinicians, the staff who have an incredibly tough job to do every day given the current challenges.
“We know the frustration, concern and impact these challenges lead to for our staff. One of the ways we can support them now is through bold and clear escalation plans to quickly identify and get on top of pressures points to ensure we look after our patients during the busiest times.
“Staff are telling us that Operation FLOW is the right way forward and worth committing to, but that it will take more time for the many marginal gains to add up and provide the full benefit. New supportive and effective escalation plans are an example of something we are working on to bring some immediate relief.
“Getting all the way to the other side of our Operation FLOW journey will make a world of difference to our patients and staff. Thank you for your understanding, persistence and commitment as we continue to work together to improve our system for both patients and staff.”
Dr Gordon McNeish, Associate Medical Director for Unscheduled Care, said: “Everyone is under unprecedented pressure. It means patients are having a poorer experience than we would like through the front door and that has a knock-on impact on staff working in that environment.
“While many staff are not yet at the point of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, we recognise there’s a real opportunity with Operation FLOW to make a positive difference and bring us back to why we want to work in Lanarkshire and the NHS.
“One of the keys is going to be making an even bigger commitment to listening to our staff and engaging with them – inviting feedback on what is working and what isn’t and adapting as we go. My role has an important part to play, acting as a critical friend as well as a link between the clinicians and the executive. I look forward to engaging with colleagues to do that.”
Through Operation FLOW 2, NHS Lanarkshire has already:
- Committed £5.9 million to ongoing recruitment what will eventually see 130 new posts to support flow. Some staff are already in post with more to join in the coming weeks and months. In addition, a further £5 million is being invested to move existing fixed-term posts to permanent.
- Developed a new Target Operating Model to set out an improved patient journey through our hospitals from pre-admission to discharge
- Launched the Rapid Emergency Assessment Care Team (REACT) on all three sites to see and treat patients more effectively and efficiently
- Introduced an enhanced Flow Navigation Centre to support the effective management of supporting patients who need urgent or unscheduled care.
Developments have included the recent expansion of the Emergency Department (ED) at University Hospital Wishaw (UHW).
Dr Ken Dagg, Chief of Medical Services at UHW, said: “It has been great to see the benefits linked to our learning from operation FLOW becoming a reality. At University Hospital Wishaw we have seen the new ED minors clinical area opened and this will be followed by the new medical ambulatory care unit.
“Our new clinical assessment spaces with extra frontline clinical staff are hugely welcome as we move into the winter months. The recruitment of new senior clinical decision makers to support our Flow Navigation Centre will enhance our urgent care services directing patients to the most appropriate service for them.
“The executive and site teams through this phase of operation FLOW have been working closely with our clinicians and partnership colleagues to develop our site and organisational escalation plans for periods of very high activity. Supporting are staff during periods of high activity is critical to the wellbeing of our staff. Our improved clinical escalation plans which are shared across our whole system will enable us to decompress our busy ED and assessment units making our patients journeys safer and faster.
“We are all increasingly recognising on this improvement journey that a large number of small changes in our patient pathways carry enormous benefits across our whole system reducing waiting times for both assessment and admission”
Following a power up phase to finalise and prepare the new models of care developed through Operation FLOW 2, they are now live to support our patients and staff over winter.
Further plans include a short, targeted firebreak later this month on all three acute sites, which will involve a whole-system drive to reduce occupancy to leave us better prepared for winter.
Reducing occupancy by a relatively small amount can make a huge difference to our patients and staff. Every member of Team Lanarkshire has a part to play and we will be sharing more on Operation FLOW 2 and the firebreak in the coming days and weeks to support staff with the information and guidance they need. This will include an updated Operation FLOW playbook, action and responsibilities framework, videos, briefings and Pulse articles.
The staff roadshows will include a presentation on the progress so far, the actions taking place over winter, and how you can contribute to successfully implementing this next phase. This will be followed by an opportunity for questions and discussion.
The roadshows will be attended by our Chief Executive Professor Jann Gardner, Dr Chris Deighan, Executive Medical Director, Eddie Docherty, Executive Nurse Director and Colin Lauder, Director of Planning, Property & Performance.
The roadshows are as follows:
- The University Hospital Monklands session will take place on Tuesday 21 November 2023 in the Lecture Theatre, University Hospital Monklands between 1330 and 1500 hrs.
- The University Hospital Wishaw session will take place on Tuesday 21 November 2023 in the Lecture Theatre, University Hospital Wishaw between 1600 and 1730 hrs.
- The University Hospital Hairmyres session will take place on Tuesday 5 December 2023 in the Lecture Theatre, Hairmyres Hospital between 1400 and 1700 hrs.
Please be aware that numbers at each roadshow are limited due to the capacity of the venue.
We look forward to seeing you there as we move through this next stage of our journey to reduce occupancy and improve flow. Thank you for your support. #TeamLanarkshire
Questions, comments or ideas can also be sent to the project team by emailing:
operationFLOW@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk
Staff can also find out more about Operation FLOW on our website:
www.nhslanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk/OperationFLOW
