Cases
The lean way of working has found its way within Maastricht UMC+: continuous improvement by transforming processes in a way that as much value as possible is added for the patient. Read our cases to discover how that works in practice.
Pharmacy
The pharmacy staff (150 FTE) work in a dynamic department with which almost everyone in the hospital has regular contact. The introduction of Operational Excellence in 2012 was seen as a breath of fresh air: finally, a suitable method had been implemented to enable continual improvement. 'When you're enthusiastic about it from day one, it catches on very quickly. It really makes you want to use it!'
Dialysis
The division of duties between Gertie Brepoels and lean practitioner Bianca Wauben certainly bore fruit! They complement each other well, are able to motivate employees to make processes clear and transparent, and their successful projects serve as a catalyst for change.
Head and Neck Oncology
The standard for Head and Neck Oncology requires 80% of patients who report to this department to begin treatment within 30 days. Previously, this was a major challenge as the various steps in the care process had to be carried out consecutively. However, a drastic reduction in the duration of the diagnostic phase was key to achieving this goal.
Accident and Emergency
In January 2019, the whole of the revamped Accident and Emergency (A&E) department will be up and running, although a lot still has to happen in order to make this possible. A&E is a complex department in which everybody comes in through the same door, regardless of their care needs. Whether you've hit your fingers with a hammer or suddenly experienced complications following chemotherapy, you enter the department in the same way. And the fact that this door is shared with the out-of-hours GP centre can often result in confusion and misunderstandings among patients.
Nursing wards A5 and B5
Staff within nursing wards A5 and B5 have been working with Operational Excellence since its introduction in 2009. At first, this was done in the form of small projects focusing mainly on improvements, though as time went by the projects started to get bigger. Now, Operational Excellence is an integral part of the culture and nearly all projects are carried out in line with the A3.