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Aug 2023

Last Updated: 02/08/2023

Health

Harrogate hospital awards consultants £1.2m to embed culture of 'continuous improvement'

by John Grainger

| 03 Aug, 2023

The continuous improvement drive will involve all 5,000+ of the trust's staff.

Harrogate District Hospital is spending nearly £1.2m on hiring management consultants to develop a culture of continuous improvement, the Stray Ferret can reveal.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust (HDFT) signed a contract with KPMG and Catalysis in March, which will run for 18 months to September 2024.

KPMG is one of the world’s largest multinational professional services companies, and Catalysis is a Wisconsin-based not-for-profit organisation dedicated to helping healthcare bodies become more efficient.

The continuous improvement programme, called HDFT Impact, will ultimately involve all 5,000-plus employees, who will be encouraged to share their knowledge with each other and come up with ways to improve the way the trust delivers its services.

In a statement sent to the Stray Ferret, a spokesperson said:

“It is our aim to embed improvement at the centre of our culture and operating model so we can provide the best quality, safest health and care services for our patients, children and the community; and make HDFT the best place to work for our colleagues.”

They added:

“There is no doubt that a steady stream of improvements, both big and small, can have transformational results.”

In recent years, KPMG and Catalysis have together worked with 16 NHS trusts, including Western Sussex, which became the first non-specialist trust to be rated outstanding in all areas by the Care Quality Commission.

In other cases, one trust saved £800,000 in theatre efficiencies, one increased surgeries per list by 25%, and another reduced falls among patients by 60%.

The spokesperson said:

“Continuous improvement is not a new concept at HDFT. It has been integral in helping us to develop our services and bring improvements for patients and colleagues for a long time – we have been using a lean quality improvement approach for over 10 years.

"We know this approach works and we’ve seen the improvements it can bring for patients and colleagues.”

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The HDFT Impact programme is being funded from the trust’s budget to procure and implement a new electronic patient record system.

The spokesperson said:

“Our EPR project is not just about providing an electronic system, but is an improvement programme enabled by technology to give our staff the opportunity to improve across the whole organisation.”

In May, it was reported that management consultants were being paid up to £3,000 a day for work within NHS England. At the time, Onay Kasab, national lead officer of trade union Unite, said the health service was being "plundered by private sector profiteers". He added:

"The money would be much better spent providing a proper pay rise for NHS staff to end the recruitment and retention crisis that is crippling health services."

HDFT's deal with KPMG and Catalysis is costing the trust about £2,200 per day for the duration of the 18-month contract.

Asked if there had been any opposition or resistance from hospital staff to the hiring of external consultants, the spokesperson said:

“As an organisation, the majority of our colleagues are receptive to continuous improvement.

"Cultural change can be challenging, and a small number of people may be sceptical, but we believe that developing our continuous improvement programme is vital in our pursuit of excellence so that we can raise quality, reduce costs, explore better ways of delivering our services, and provide the best possible healthcare for those who need it.

"We hope that as the programme progresses and staff engage in it, all of our staff will recognise the huge benefits.”

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Harrogate hospital awards consultants £1.2m to embed culture of 'continuous improvement'

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