The Treatment Room Staff and Primary Care Manager.
Primary Care and Older People
Lisburn Health Centre
Treatment Room - Quality Improvement
In Lisburn Health Centre Treatment Room, patients were dissatisfied with the service they were
receiving as they were waiting in excess of two hours in some cases to have their blood taken.
The normal routine was that patients had to 'take a number and sit and wait'. Patients were
complaining in relation to the overcrowding in the waiting area, long waiting times and staff were
left feeling very frustrated. It was a 'first come, first served basis' and quite often patients had to
return two or three times, as the sessions to see the nurse for that day were all taken. This led to
an increase in complaints from patients, General Practitioners and decreased morale within the
nursing staff in the Health Centre.
In order to respond effectively to the complaints and to ensure best practice and a high quality
Service, the decision was taken to implement change in order to raise the profile of our service
and improve patient outcomes. It was evident that the current service delivery was no longer
working and not fit for purpose. This led to a decision to review the current ways of working,
change our management structure and how we supported staff to improve patient care, thus
upholding the ethos of our Trust Values and Corporate Plan.
The decision to implement an appointment system would be the most effective way to reduce
complaints, alleviate patient anxiety and help staff manage their day better in a more controlled
way. In order for this change to be continuous and effective we had engagement with all staff,
stakeholders and South Eastern HSC Trust management.
The appointment system is now well embedded and has reduced the number of complaints,
increased staff morale and increased better patient outcomes.
While the volume of work in the Treatment Room has not decreased and there still remains a high
number of patients through the department, the workload is more manageable for the nursing staff.
Patients have reported greater satisfaction with the Service and have complimented the staff on
how the appointment system has improved the patient experience. This success has also had a
positive impact on the whole Nursing Team.
Well done to all the team for their hard work, commitment and continuous teamwork.
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