In This Edition...

OUTPLACEMENT

ENGINEERS WANTED IN DEFENCE

NORTHERN SKILLS

NHS LEAN APPROACH

YOUNG ENGINEERS

JLR ACADEMY

STEVE BROWN

INNOVATION

RECRUIT TO SAVE

Wakefield
01924 241010
wakefield@jonlee.co.uk

Leicester
0116 299 4040
leicester@jonlee.co.uk

Stourbridge
01384 397555
consult@jonlee.co.uk

St Albans
01727 841101
jobs@jprecruit.com

Basildon
01268 889250
southfields@jonlee.co.uk

International
00 44 (0)800 6529801
int@jonlee.co.uk

www.jonlee.co.uk

NHS takes Lean approach
to new hospitals

Already one of the highest achieving NHS Trusts in the country, St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust was keen to further improve the patient journey following its investment in two state of the art hospitals. Firstly, it compared its current approaches with other leading healthcare organisations. Then, the team consulted Premier Medical USA to formulate the specification of a person to spearhead these changes and to find the right individual for the role, it turned to Jonathan Lee Recruitment.

The journey begins
In 2007, St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust began looking into improving the effectiveness of its processes and delivering measurable improvements in care, following a meeting with US organisation, Premier Healthcare Alliance. Trust Chief Executive, Ann Marr, was interested in how the USA uses process improvement engineers to improve healthcare practices and processes.

Ann was keen to replicate this approach to maximise the investment in two new hospitals and to avoid transferring the old ways of working into the new facilities. The Trust worked with its clinicians and patients to ensure the layout of the hospital was logical and allowed a better way of working, with the patients" pathway swift and seamless.

Looking to industry
As the opening of the new St Helens Hospital drew closer, the Trust decided to recruit a Head of Modernisation to oversee and review the effectiveness of clinical and non-clinical services. The team wanted to take someone on from an industrial sector, with a proven track record for continuously improving processes. While it was looking for somebody skilled in Lean, the Trust also saw the importance of a range of skills and techniques in order to take a blended approach with the new hospitals. It was also crucial that they should have the knowledge and skills to focus on processes to enhance quality patient care and experiences.

Senior recruiters from Jonathan Lee Recruitment were able to discuss the Trust's needs in detail assisting in shaping its requirements and advising on what types of roles and skills would transfer well from different sectors.

The Trust chose six people from an initial list of 20 candidates to attend a Jonathan Lee Recruitment assessment day and subsequently invited two to a final interview.

"Jonathan Lee Recruitment was invaluable in helping us to maximise the effectiveness of our new facilities. I am looking forward to working with our new Head of Modernisation and taking healthcare and the patient experience to exceptional levels at the new St Helens and Whiston Hospitals."said Alistair Mulvey, the Trust's Director of Finance.

"Lean methodology has been an integral part of the engineering and manufacturing industries for a number of years now and it has worked extremely successfully" commented Andy Tierney, Regional Manager Northern Operations. ";It is fascinating that these practices and other approaches to process effectiveness are now being used to bring improvements in the healthcare sector. We will hopefully see more of it and I look forward to the seeing the specific results in the new St Helens and Whiston Hospitals."

andy.tierney@jonlee.co.uk