A Saskatchewan delegation has returned from the United Kingdom with new ideas about how to reduce surgical wait times and improve patient outcomes and safety.
The delegation consisted of physicians, nurse managers, health region leaders, members of the Health Quality Council (HQC), the Saskatchewan Medical Association and the Ministry of Health."This tour of high-performing British health facilities confirmed that Saskatchewan is moving in the right direction," Health Minister Don McMorris said. "The UK experience continues to show the importance of involving the entire team of front-line providers when designing better ways to deliver surgical care. We've brought home concrete ideas for improvement, and I'm certain these ideas will translate into sooner, safer and smarter care for surgical patients."
The group was introduced to specific programs, such as the Productive Operating Theatre and Enhanced Recovery and Ambulatory Care programs that improve the quality of care and outcomes for surgical and emergency patients. The UK has successfully reduced surgical wait times to 18 weeks and achieved dramatic improvements in patient outcomes and safety.
"We saw wonderful examples of how well organized and timely ambulatory care can transform acute care and non-elective hospital admissions," Saskatoon Health Region President and CEO Maura Davies said. "This ensured that only patients who absolutely require in-patient care receive their care in that setting. This approach is consistent with our vision for Saskatoon City Hospital, where a focus on ambulatory care, including women's health and care for patients with chronic diseases, will play a pivotal role in our transformed, patient and family centred health system."
"The trip was an excellent opportunity to see successes in surgical wait times for elective surgery, and also to affirm that many of the initiatives we're undertaking are on the right track," Specialty Care for the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region Vice President Diane Larrivee said. "One of the themes that emerged at every site we visited was the need for patient, staff and physician engagement.
We've seen great success with engaging staff in Releasing Time to CareTM in Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region, and after the site visits, I believe the same kinds of outcomes can be achieved in more service areas."
"We have enthusiasm among front line staff to make a change for the better, which is key as the Productive Operating Room is about building teams to better co-ordinate OR work," Prince Albert Parkland Health Region Senior Medical Officer Dr. Edmund Royeppen said. "We are positioned at a time when we can be most adaptable and I think we are going to be very successful at this."
"Patients in the UK are receiving better, safer care in large part because front-line providers there have received the support they need to redesign and improve care processes," Saskatchewan's Health Quality Council CEO Bonnie Brossart said, which helped sponsor the study tour. "Similarly, HQC is focusing much of its resources on equipping providers and managers in this province with the skills and knowledge they need to improve care for surgery patients."
The trip was arranged as part of the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative, which was created to transform the surgical patient experience and reduce surgical waits to no more than three months by 2014.
