We are updating our priorities for improvement under our Patient First improvement programme.
We follow Patient First to help us make changes which will have a big impact on the care we give. The programme has been in place for nearly three years and it is now time to update our key goals so that they remain relevant to changing circumstances and put us in a better position to understand what we are doing well and where we need to focus further.
New priorities for better performance
From May 2025, we will be prioritising the following activities which will be our:
• Culture Change programme
• Green Sustainability Plan
• Digital, Data and Technology
• Access and Flow Productivity – making it easier for patients to get the care they need, and to make their journey through the hospital, from admission to discharge, quicker and smoother.
Updated goals for excellent care
We are also looking to update our goals in five keys areas (we call these our ‘True North Domains’). These goals tell us what we need to be doing, and by when, to provide excellent care in a sustainable way.
Our new goals under each domain are:
Patients: ‘Achieve 95 per cent of patients having a positive experience’ from admission to discharge and at any point in the outpatient journey.
People: ‘To have a highly engaged workforce across the organisation which will make us the employer of choice’. This focuses on making sure we are seen as a good place to work so that we attract and keep the best staff.
Systems and Partnerships: ‘92 per cent of patients treated within 18 weeks for Referral to Treatment (RTT) by March 2029’. This is about waiting less time to see a specialist or for your operation or diagnostic test such as a scan or X-ray from the time you are referred.
Systems and Partnerships: The second goal under this domain is to be confirmed, but will relate to emergency care, and is likely to focus on improving waiting times for treatment and/or admission and ensuring patients do not stay in hospital longer than they need to.
Quality: ‘No avoidable harm or deaths’. This means making sure that nobody comes to harm, or dies, in our hospital that should not have.
Sustainability: ‘To reach a sustainable underlying breakeven revenue position by 2028/9’. We remain financially challenged and this is about balancing the books and being more efficient with the resources available.
Further involvement in Patient First
We would like patients, visitors and members to be more involved in Patient First in the future. Did you know you can currently engage in Patient First through improvement huddles and our weekly open improvement session, Patient First: In the Spotlight?
Improvement huddles
These are 15-minute meetings where everyone in a ward or service area gathers to discuss opportunities for improvement. Patients and their families/carers are welcome to join these to raise any concerns they may have or make suggestions for improvement.
Patient First: In the Spotlight
This is a weekly open session where staff share improvements they have made and take questions from the audience. It is open to all and is held every Thursday at 8.15am in the hospital main entrance. You are welcome to join us.
If you would like to find out more about Patient First, please contact our Transformation Team.
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