Improvement

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Our 4ward Improvement System is designed to support and promote a culture of continuous improvement across all our services. 

Our 4ward Improvement System is built on the principle that the people who do the work, are the ones best placed to improve the work, driving continuous improvement by empowering everyone to make a change. It will give colleagues the tools, techniques and mindset they need to make those improvements continuously and consistently – and it will enable colleagues to enjoy all the benefits that a culture of continuous improvement brings.

What is the 4ward Improvement System:

  • It builds on our 4ward behaviours to encourage and embed a Trustwide culture of continuous improvement – ‘better never stops.’
  • It plays an integral part of an inclusive and civil culture, where respect for people is the foundation stone.
  • Provides some standard tools, techniques and tiers of training – but much more about a mindset and shared approach to eliminating waste
  • By waste we mean – any task or item that doesn’t add value.
  • This will make our Trust an even better place to work and an even better place in which to be cared for.
  • It is developed in partnership with the Virginia Mason Institute, but it is our system

This is an important, long-term project that will evolve and spread across our Trust over a period of months and years, and ultimately change the way we all work together – giving us many successes to celebrate together. 

That means making the very best possible use of ALL of our precious resources becomes even more important to us and to our patients.  

Our 4ward Improvement System has a vital part to play in helping each and every one of us do that for the benefit of our teams, our services and ultimately our patients.

Implementing the 4ward Improvement System properly requires a measured, thoughtful approach to training, development and prioritising areas of focus. There are two important points we encourage colleagues all to think about:

  • The first important point is that if you are already involved in an improvement project then please keep going. 
  • The second important point is that our 4ward Improvement System is partly about tools and techniques but it is mainly about culture – which is why we have linked it so closely to our 4ward behaviours and the wider 4ward programme.

We want to create a culture of continuous improvement where people come to work not only to do their work, but also to improve their work.