From operational strain to strategic clarity — we help healthcare providers deliver lasting change.

Our company provides management solutions for healthcare providers through consultancy and interim management led by our two Directors.

We provide management interventions using proven methods of scientific systems management combined with practical experience of operational management.

We provide a comprehensive range of management services across all aspects of healthcare.

Our focus is on making real world sustainable changes in business processes to achieve improved efficiency and effectiveness on the ground. We have unrivalled record of success in achieving this and stakeholders relationships.

We have an outstanding record in improving regulatory compliance which is then used as a tool for wider improvements in services.

We have achieved outstanding success in resolving problem situations in business planning and elucidating the nature of issues in order to provide a clear vision and goals for development. We have developed numerous strategic plans, governance and quality monitoring frameworks. We use these as a foundation for any further work.

We have an exceptional record in workforce management, both in resolving various disputes and in maximising workforce effectiveness and building relationships.

Some resulting major achievements are:

We have an extensive record of successful modernisation and service improvement projects, some of which are:

Our real success and achievement lie in the recurring small improvements across many areas and the building of a sound understanding, relations and support for good management. Success for us is about empowering our team to have the skills, confidence and motivation for future success and development.

Our holistic, whole-system, approach starts with a clear understanding of the strategic situation, policy objectives and the problem situation. Often failures at the operational level result from a misunderstanding of the real issues.

Hence, our work usually starts with a strategic review and planning. We use a range of problem structuring methods to understand the nature of complicated strategic issues common to healthcare.

Our work is often developed through achieving compliance against regulatory, quality and professional standards. Regulatory compliance is central to the running of modern healthcare systems and the foundation of our work as it provides a skeleton for the systems. It is the framework that supports modern healthcare systems.

We have a focus and expertise on operational work that is often neglected or sidelined. We have many years experience of modernisation and service improvement using the reengineering of pathways to meet effectiveness and efficiency targets. This is achieved through an understanding of operational processes, and the use of systems tools such as process mapping, demand and capacity planning, statistical process controls statistical and queuing modelling. This forms part of our quality monitoring dashboard to provide a basis for rational decision making.

The efficient management of financial resources is more and more important as cost increases and funding is stretched. There can be an unwillingness to acknowledge financial constraints in healthcare. However, often efficiencies that lead to costs savings are also more effective. Cost savings and service improvement are not mutually beneficial. Also, money saved in one area can be used to improve

another. We have extensive knowledge of finance and budgetary management. We have a record of achieving financial savings whilst also improving effectiveness and developing relationships. We are expert at negotiating contracts at favourable terms.

Staff are at the centre of healthcare systems. Ensuring that staff are trained, motivated and well led is vital to success. We work with staff to understand the problems in an organisation and develop solutions together so as to build teams, develop a learning culture, to enhance their professional development and gain support for change.

The modern healthcare organisation is built around, and reliant upon, its information systems. Such systems are fundamental in supporting our detailed and rigorous approach (e.g. data analysis, modelling, etc) we use to ensure that process are effective and efficient.

To be effective all these methods require considerable specialised skills in modern management methods using Problem Structuring Approach (PSA). Our experience is that even senior managers often do not have the skills or time to undertake such projects with the required rigour, resulting in the failure of the project. Our combination of formal training in management, management science and statistics combined with over thirty years of practical experience in healthcare puts us in an excellent position to avoid these failures. We ensure success through the most rigorous (yet simple and flexible) project management approach based on sound theory.

Our methodology is based on the rigorous use of modern management methods including PSA within a project management framework. This includes:

• Business Process Reengineering (BPR)
• Lean thinking
• Learning Cultures & Professional Development (L&D)
• Organisational Development (OD)

• Performance Management
• Process Mapping
• Six Sigma
• Soft Systems Methods (SSM)
• Statistical & Mathematical Modelling

• Statistical Process Control (SPC)
• Strategic Options Development and
Analysis (SODA)
• Structured Choice Approach (SCA)
• Total Quality Management (TQM)

These are proven methods that offer tremendous potential to improve services in the healthcare environment.

We have a specialised knowledge of problem structuring methods used to scope problems and to develop plans in the most rigorous way. Many projects fail because the nature of the problem has not been properly understood. We restructure projects and develop solutions to problems in an effective and efficient way that provides the best improvement to healthcare organisations.

We are focussed on optimising operational processes through rigorous quality monitoring systems, care pathway development and statistical process control.

Our expertise in human resource, including organisational development (OD), workforce planning, learning & development (L&D) has a record of satisfactory resolution of staffing and disciplinary disputes. Workforce systems are often lacking in many organisations and lie at the root of many problems with staff motivation. We implement workforce systems that ensure the right skill mixes are in place. That is, staff have the right training, process for continuous development/assessment, their roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and systems for oversight and reporting.

We hold master’s-level qualifications in Management, Management Science and Statistics. One Director also holds a PhD. With our academic background, we apply rigorous analytical methods and have the capability to understand and implement complex methodologies in real-world settings.

We have over thirty years of practical experience across most areas of healthcare. As a result, we are able to identify what works and what does not. We have encountered and resolved almost every type of operational challenge. This breadth of experience enables us to draw upon proven solutions within one of the most respected health systems in the world. A few examples of the projects we have been involved in include:

▪︎ Planning new hospitals and services
▪︎ Running pilot projects
▪︎ Conducting strategic reviews
▪︎ Developing corporate governance systems

Our experience spans a wide range of healthcare providers, including general and specialist hospitals, health boards and regulatory bodies. This includes some of the largest, most prestigious and successful hospitals in the United Kingdom. Consequently, we understand what works and how to achieve it.

We also have experience with underperforming hospitals and have led turnaround teams that successfully revitalised such organisations. We are therefore well equipped to support problem services and drive measurable improvements in performance.

We have led governance, compliance and regulatory projects that have resulted in demonstrable improvements in quality, outcomes and successful assessments by professional and regulatory bodies.

We have undertaken many strategic reviews, including revising plans in response to internal and external change; identifying and assessing risks; developing new markets; financial planning and budget development; and workforce planning. We define desired outcomes and targets and develop performance metrics to monitor progress against plan.

Having worked in many different healthcare organisation and in a wide range of areas we have an extensive network of contacts and partnerships. Thus, we have access to further resources and skills when needed for specific projects. This includes, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, radiologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, IT specialists, software developers, data analysts, management specialists, etc. Many of these are leaders in their fields. Hence, we can call on a wide variety of skills and staff to supplement our skills as needed