By Carla Wintersgill

Runnymede Healthcare Centre is committed to providing the tools and resources to empower its staff and promote engagement. By supporting ongoing professional development, the hospital is enhancing the patient care.

Runnymede staff recently underwent Lean training with the goal of enhancing efficiency and patient care.

The goal of Lean is to provide the right services to the right patients in the right way by reducing waste in processes, increasing value, and optimizing logistics. It’s an opportunity to review the hospital’s care and identify any non-efficient steps.

“Lean perfectly matches hospitals,” says Morteza Zohrabi, a Lean Six Sigma master black belt and the trainer for Runnymede’s Lean sessions. “Everyone is coming here to help people. By using Lean, they can find ideas for a wide range of improvement.”

Examples of waste include areas where staff duplicate actions, time spent waiting for information, or delayed decision-making. In some areas, the waste activities could be eliminated by redesigning or simplifying the current process.

“Runnymede is committed to supporting our staff’s success,” says Sharleen Ahmed, VP, Strategy, People and Corporate Affairs. “Lean training provides an opportunity for professional development and ensures we are actively working toward providing the most efficient, high-quality care possible.”

The staff spent up to six days in interactive training sessions that used a combination of tools, techniques and structures.

“In healthcare we have the passion and desire to improve outcomes,” Morteza says. “We just need the tools and structure to improve patient care.”

Carla Wintersgill is a Communications Specialist at Runnymede Healthcare Centre.