The Hospital Clínic Barcelona has consolidated Lean methodology as an essential part of its strategic plan to improve the efficiency and quality of the health services, involving over 500 professionals through the Lean Office. Moreover, on 10 July the first conference devoted to this methodology was held, with the participation and involvement of several Catalan hospitals and health centres. The Clínic is thus positioned as a hospital committed to continuous improvement to adopt practices that maximize value for patients and professionals, and to improve their satisfaction.
Currently, 50% of the hospital’s services have Lean initiatives underway, and 35 projects have been completed with significant results. For example, the streamlining of the hospitalization process in the Pulmonology Ward has led to 40% of admissions before 4 pm, which means less time spent by patients in A&E. Furthermore, initiatives in the surgical area have allowed for a reduction in the time taken to prepare materials and the stock of the latter in the pre-anaesthesia area.
Anna Voltes, head of the Lean Office, underlines the importance of involving everyone in identifying problems and proposing solutions. “‘Lean’ is not ‘Lean’ if it doesn’t involve all professionals”, she stresses. In order to facilitate this implementation, the Clínic offers specific training to all the professionals, and support during projects, activities and workshops related to the Lean methodology. It also incorporates patient experience and collaborates with the hospital’s working groups specialized in this vision.
In addition, internally, four ‘Lean Days’ have been organized, days for exchanging Lean experiences in the hospital, which have served to promote collaboration and the exchange of knowledge among professionals. With this last Lean Day on 10 July, a further step was taken and other Catalan healthcare organizations were also involved, such as CatSalut, the Hospital de Bellvitge, the Vic Hospital Consortium and the Alt Penedès-Garraf Healthcare Consortium, etc. This highlights this sector’s commitment to these practices and its interest in adopting them.
The consolidation of Lean methodology at the Hospital Clínic Barcelona represents an important change towards a more efficient, higher quality and more sustainable healthcare system. Days like this one show that, thanks to the ongoing collaboration between professionals, this transformation will continue to provide lasting benefits for all involved.
