Patient Catering Transformation

CI Projects were engaged to complete an end-to-end Lean Six Sigma review of the Front of House Service at an NHS Trust based in the midlands. We reviewed everything from recruitment through to reporting to obtain a clear understanding of the challenges this service was battling and their true impact. We were onboarded as the change partner to ensure a sustainable change plan was developed which would embed and drive better customer service.

We built a delivery team that would support their Head of Patient Catering, providing expertise in Change Management. Our role was to work in collaboration with front-of-house delivery team, the leadership team, the NHS Trust and the end users to deliver a change programmed focused on making a difference to our NHS.

The Programme consistent of 7 core workstreams:
1. Recruitment looking at onboarding, training, and competency assessments to support staff retention.
2. Communication focusing on internal and external communication plans, stakeholders and development of operational toolkits to improve teamwork and relationships.
3. Process and schedules to define new ways of working and removal of waste in the process to re-engineer time back into customer service.
4. Training looking at the Patient Catering Strategy and defining a training programme that was repeatable and encouraged empowerment for delivering services in a standard consistent manner supported by competency assessments to maintain and embed.
5. Reporting to develop and improve self-reporting awareness and capability, ensuring accountability and responsibilities were defined and understood to drive better performance and healthy competition through league tables.
6. Team Structures focusing on roles and responsibilities, logistics, rostering, team schedules, additional kitchen recourses to support new ways of working and encouraging communication and training to support the welfare of employees
7. Customer understanding their needs, supporting the ever changing environment and embedding good customer service.

The programme was delivered through a variety of change initiatives including interactive workshops and training. Every member of the Patient Catering Team had a vital role in delivering the changes and championed each workstream with the Senior Change Manager driving direction and stakeholder management.

Consistent monitoring of changes implemented through phased delivery allowed embedment and drive to ensure delivery was successful but also provided tools to ensure continuation and self delivery by the operational team on departure at the close of the programme.

A prioritised list of recommendations that could optimise the Target Operating Model (TOM) and improve customer experience, both for the NHS Trust and for patients was developed and implemented, ensuring that the customer was at the heart of this project.

The transformation project was run over a period of 6-9 months. We focused on the quick wins, followed by the medium and long term recommendations.

We worked collaboratively with all stakeholders to deliver a change programme which had high impact on their patients experience.

Benefits achieved as a result of this transformation project include:

• Reduction in process cycle time by 16% by removing waste and improving value-add time
• Service Point reduction to within threshold for 4 months whilst in programme mode
• Shift change to support busy period of morning shift, improving productivity and performance
• Central clock in point to encourage improved start and end shift communications
• Standard operating procedures aligned with training strategy
• Reduction in overtime costs by 10% through better recruitment and shift management
• Improved communication both internally and externally encouraged a better team dynamic and work-ethic

 The Account Director said:

“This project has been a great success and delivered in a way which we have never seen before. It’s been a positive change for the Patient Catering team and having the support of CI Projects gave them confidence they needed to move the service forward.”