Sligo Regional Hospital wins top UK award

The Surgical Gynaecology Unit, Sligo Regional Hospital, was awarded first prize in the International category of the Lean Healthcare Awards UK, held in Leeds recently for their Productive Ward Project, 'Room to Care'. The unit was short-listed over several hundred applicants from hospitals internationally and was awarded first prize in a ceremony in the UK last month.

The submission outlined how staff on the unit had streamlined the admission process, created a warm, private environment for the patient and shortened the admission time, utilising information generated from the patient’s attendance at the Pre-Admission Clinic. The results showed a time saving for the nurse of approximately 40 minutes per admission (560 hours in one year) and a very positive evaluation from a past patient who took part in the ’15 step challenge’ following the room’s completion: “I was a past patient, and the admission room is a godsend… I can talk about very personal matters to the nurse or the doctor without 5 other patients listening through the curtains!”

The Lean Healthcare Conference and Awards are an annual event run by the UK-based Lean Healthcare Academy in Leeds. It is a platform for sharing best practice and allows healthcare organisations to gain recognition for projects that deliver improvements in patient experience and in efficiencies. The 'Room to Care' project involved setting up a private space, separate from the general ward area, where patients are admitted by all members of the Multi-Disciplinary Team.

Following receipt of the award, the hospital has received a number of enquiries from UK-based hospitals wishing to replicate the 'Room to Care' project in their hospitals. Speaking after the awards ceremony, Grainne McCann, General Manager of Sligo Regional Hospital said “This is great news for Sligo Regional Hospital and is an exceptional achievement by the Surgical Gynaecological team. The project was brought about by a desire to improve both the patient experience and hospital efficiencies and any initiative that delivers on both objectives is one to be proud of. We plan to implement the 'Room to Care' concept beyond the initial ward project here in Sligo Regional Hospital and look forward to sharing our learning with other hospitals throughout the West/North West Hospitals Group and beyond."

The Surgical Gynaecology team would like to acknowledge the support from the Nursing and Midwifery Practice Development Unit.