Impact of Lean Management Practices

DISSERTATION
(To identify the impact of lean management practices on patients' outcomes,
professional practices and health care system)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................1
Background of the study.........................................................................................................1
Aim and Objectives................................................................................................................3
Research Questions................................................................................................................3
Rationale of the study.............................................................................................................3
Research specification............................................................................................................4
Structure of the study..............................................................................................................4
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................6
Lean management practices and frequently reported types of lean activities and approaches6
Interrelationship between lean management practices or interventions and professional
practices..................................................................................................................................8
Effectiveness of lean management practices in order to improve patient’s safety in health and
social care sector...................................................................................................................10
CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS................................................................................................13
Analysis................................................................................................................................13
CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION.........................................................................................................17
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION......................................................................................................22
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................23

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Lean management is considered as the set of methods that ensure creating maximum
value for patients and minimizing medication errors. Health care sector is facing huge
complications due to which now, it has become essential to improve the care system in hospitals.
It is essential for medical professionals to provide quality treatment to patients and take care of
them. Lean management promises to improve the quality, capacity and safety in organization.
Implementation of effective lean practices aid ion helps in reducing the operational cost and
gaining positive outcomes.
Patient’s safety is considered as the fundamental aspect in health and social care sector.
Therefore, now, it has become very important for professionals to be more vigilant in respect to
provide clinical care to users. Policy makers and clinicians identify potential risk that can arise
and accordingly, they deliver services to them. Practitioners are responsible to provide quality
care to patients (Boamah, Read and Spence Laschinger, 2017). It involves correct diagnosis and
therapeutic acts that support in improving health of the persons. World health organization
(WHO) has declared that safety of patients is a global priority of health care sector. Concerned
authorities are continuously working for minimizing the clinical errors and increasing
professional competencies so that diligent can get quality care in hospitals.
In the recent era, medical professionals are taking support of advanced technologies and
enhancing patient’s engagement. This aids in identifying the medical needs of person and
providing them care accordingly. Increasing communication with users is the first priority of
clinical department (The role of hospital managers in quality and patient safety: a systematic
review, 2014). ‘WHO’ has made it essential to coordinate with the patients properly. It is an
influential regulation that is essential to be followed by each nursing staff. Practitioners interact
with the users well so that they can share their issues with the doctors properly. This helps care
providers in providing quality care services to the patients. It improves safety culture in the
health and social care organization. Now, staff members are providing necessary education
through promotional campaigns to the users so that they can take care of themselves. These
people take care of safety measures in paediatric and surgical setting.
Lean management theory is considered as one of the effective approaches that
concentrate on making continuous improvement in management practices. It is an essential
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method that helps in making positive changes at the workplace so that employees can understand
their responsibility and perform well in organization. Health and social care sector is the industry
in which patients always prefer to deliver quality care to patients but for that, it is essential for
medical professionals to understand requirement of patients and accordingly, make changes in
the system so that people can get quality care in hospitals (Zaheer and et.al, 2015).
Lean management practices involve engagement of medical professionals, customer
communication and empowering users so that actual rout cause of problem can be identified and
improvements can be made accordingly. In the recent era, authorities are trying to improve the
culture and reducing wastage as well as waiting time so that patients can get high quality services
in hospitals. These lean practices ensure that individuals get quality services at lower rate. Nurses
and physicians play a significant role in patient’s safety. They diagnose individuals properly in
order to address systematic nature of problem (Quality of care and patient safety: a global
priority, 2017). ‘WHO’ has made several standards in this respect that helps the medical
professionals in identifying necessary steps that are required to be followed by them in order to
provide quality care services to the patients in hospitals. Care managers are the persons who are
responsible for activities of care home. They ensure that all nurses and junior doctors perform
their duties well and take care of patients effectively. Statistical records show that from 2004-
2005, hospitals have concentrated on development management practices in the care homes.
They have emphasised on the outcome based initiatives through which patients can get quality
care in hospitals (Boamah, Read and Spence Laschinger, 2017).
Managers in NHS always implement lean management approach at workplace. They
ensure that staff members create value for the consumers and deal with them properly. In these
management practices, high authorities identify problem in the system and they make
modification so that issue can be resolved soon. In the recent era, due to high workload, medical
professionals are unable to handle such large number of people in hospitals. In such condition,
they get failed to provide them treatment as per their medical needs. This increases the chances
of occurring errors which affect quality of services in NHS. Care managers are responsible to
ensure changing requirements in the organization and they have to make modifications in the
system in a systematic manner so that they can ensure patient's safety and improve their health
conditions to a great extent (Carayon and et.al, 2014).
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Main aim of this research is to identify the impact of lean management practices on
patients' outcome, professional practices and health care system. It will explain various lean
management practices and their effectiveness in hospitals for patient’s safety as well as for
improving the professional services. It will emphasis on the interrelationship between lean
management practices or interventions and professional practices.
Aim and Objectives
Aim
“To identify the impact of lean management practices on patients' outcome, professional
practices and health care system: A study on Game Care home”
Objectives
 To explain lean management practices in health and social care sector
 To explain frequently reported types of lean activities and approaches
 To identify interrelationship between lean management practices or interventions and
professional practices in Game Care home
 To determine effectiveness of lean management practices in order to improve patient’s
safety in Game Care home
 To suggest the ways through which lean management approaches ensure patient’s safety
and improve professional practices in health and social care sector
Research Questions
 What are the lean management practices applied in health and social care sector?
 Explain frequently reported types of lean activities and approaches?
 What is the interrelationship between lean management practices or interventions and
professional practices in Game Care home?
 How effective are lean management practices in order to improve patient’s safety in
Game Care home?
Rationale of the study
Lean practices have been applied by many other countries and they have become able to
improve their patient’s safety and professional practices. Thus, by conducting this study,
individuals will be able to make the concerned department aware with effectiveness of lean
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management practices in hospitals. The main reason of carrying out this research is that there are
limited studies that have been conducted in past on management work in health and social care
sector (HSC) with reference to patient’s safety. Thus, actually medical professionals are unaware
with working activities and their power. Due to financial issues, NHS is unable to make changes
in the care system for improving safety of patients (The role of hospital managers in quality and
patient safety: a systematic review, 2014). Thus, it is an interesting area of research and scholar
will be able to gather in-depth details about the topic which may improve their experience as
well. This topic has been provided by university and thus, researcher has chosen this topic for
further investigation. Scholar has framed objectives on the basis of research aim and will gather
information on the topic. Few researchers are aware with the impact of lean management
practices on patients' outcome, professional practices and health care system.
Research specification
Research methodology plays a significant role in dissertation, it helps researcher in
finding suitable way to conduct investigation in an accurate manner. In order to conduct present
study on the impact of lean management practices on patients' outcomes, professional practices
and health care system, scholar will apply secondary data collection sources (Quality of care and
patient safety: a global priority, 2017). Individuals will gather information regarding lean
management practices, patient’s safety from books, journals, internet articles, etc. These sources
will help the investigator in developing in-depth understanding about topic. Furthermore, scholar
will conduct systematic review which will assist in critically evaluating the topic and data.
There are two main types of approaches i.e. qualitative and qualitative. Both these are
helpful in preparing thesis in an appropriate manner. In the current investigation, researcher will
choose both these approaches. This will support in finding the impact of lean management
practices on patients' outcomes, professional practices and health care system. Furthermore,
researcher will take support of meta-synthesis tool that will aid in seeking data from various but
inter-related qualitative studies.
Structure of the study Chapter 1: Introduction: First chapter will be of brief introduction of the topic. In this
researcher will give brief overview of lean management practices, quality care, patient’s
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