About this Presentation
This presentation provided the health context: UK healthcare is the largest employer in Europe with a workforce of over 1.3 million people, many of whom operate as highly qualified front-line staff (doctors and nurses); the largest London teaching hospital employs more staff than, for example, the whole of Hewlett Packard Europe; in a typical teaching hospital, there are more than 400,000 visits to outpatient clinics per year; 60,000 inpatients; 25,000 operations and 75,000 attendances to the accident and emergency department; the 'Number One' pledge of the UK government at the last election was to deliver a breakthrough in performance in healthcare; in the last three years, the national budget has been increased by over 30% and the number of patients treated has increased by 3.7%; there are backlogs of between 9 and 18 months for operations; and many chief executive / senior management posts remain unfilled. The chain of activities in healthcare includes inputs from ambulances, general practitioner referrals and elective surgery patients to admissions and emergency, acute, community hospital, residential and nursing care, and social and healthcare activities. Buffers were placed in the emergency department to identify and eliminate problems through weekly multi-team one-hour buffer management meetings. Results include: hospital '1' treated over 95% of patients in less than 4 hours; hospital '2' achieved 100% performance at 4 hours; therefore, it shifted its goal to three hours and achieved over 95%. Buffer management has been implemented across the full system to identify and eliminate problems, thus reducing task time averages and standard deviations associated with patient care.
What Will You Learn
To help you get the most value from this session, we’ve highlighted a few key points. These takeaways capture the main ideas and practical insights from the presentation, making it easier for you to review, reflect, and apply what you’ve learned.
Instructor(s)
Alex Knight
ALEX KNIGHT BSc, MBA Alex’s fascination with the Theory of Constraints started with a chance meeting with Dr Eli Goldratt. After meeting Eli, Alex realized the biggest breakthrough needed was in how we run and transform businesses. His first exploration with TOC was when he was at Ashridge Business School and was soon teaching TOC on all major executive open and tailored programs. He became a Board Member and led their international consulting activities for fifteen years. This involved working all over the world with many international businesses including Unilever, Hewlett Packard and American Express. Alex is globally recognized for his close work with Dr Eli Goldratt in bringing the Theory of Constraints to health and social care. His work around the world over the last three decades with leaders in health and wellbeing is encapsulated in his business novel, Pride and Joy. This has been translated into Japanese and French. It not only provides a blueprint for transformational change in health and social care but also highlights the key stages of analysis and innovation that are required to create a breakthrough in any industry. Alex's work is guided by his time spent with Dr Goldratt. It is through a combination of coaching executives in what not to change, laser-like focus on the few key leverage points to change and the development of true innovation in these selected areas that Alex believes leaders can better understand their own assumptions, achieve step changes in their own performance, the teams they work in and the areas they are responsible for. Alex’s passion is to demonstrate that TOC is not a methodology to be carried out by unique individuals but can be a practical process taught to everyone allowing the whole organization to participate in breakthrough thinking.
Ms Alka Wadhwa
Alka Wadhwa is an experienced consultant and process improvement expert with over 24 years of expertise in the Theory of Constraints (TOC), Lean Six Sigma, and organizational performance optimization. She has successfully led projects in healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing, driving significant improvements such as a 67% boost in hospital operations and a 140% increase in outpatient visits.
Previously, Alka Wadhwa spent 17+ years at GE Global Research Center, where she led initiatives to enhance various GE businesses through advanced technologies, process redesign, and system optimization. Founder of Better Solutions Consulting, LLC, she specializes in using TOC, Six Sigma, and data analytics to streamline operations and build high-performance teams.
Her work has earned her multiple accolades, including the Empire State Award of Excellence in healthcare.
Dr Gary Wadhwa
Dr. Gary Wadhwa is a Board Certified Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon with extensive experience in the field. He completed his Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery training at Montefiore Hospital, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY, and has served as an Attending at prestigious institutions like St. Peters Hospitals, Ellis Hospital, and Beth Israel Hospital in NY. With a career spanning over two decades, he was the former CEO and President of a group specialty practice in NY from 1994 to 2015. Dr. Wadhwa holds an MBA from UT at Knoxville, TN, and has undergone additional training in System Dynamics at MIT, Health System Management at Harvard Business School, and Entrepreneurship and healthcare innovations at Columbia Business School. Committed to expanding access to Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery care, he is currently engaged in a meaningful project to provide healthcare services to underserved populations in inner city and rural areas through non-profit Community Health Centers.