Published on: Thursday, 02 May 2019

The Lean Innovation Centre in Cork University Hospital was launched formally on 21st of March 2019 by Chief Executive Officer J.A. McNamara. The launch event was attended by staff of Cork University Hospital, Cork Institute of Technology and hospital staff involved with the Lean initiatives in particular.  

Mr. McNamara took the opportunity to acknowledge the significant support of the CAMMS Centre in CIT and in particular Lean course coordinator Mr. Mark Stockil.  For 10 years CAMMS has been assisting the CUH in optimising the performance of various departments within the hospital through Lean practices including resource deployment and process issues. The hospital have seen significant financial and resource savings as a result of this work.

The senior management team is committed to the adoption of Lean methodology in CUH and have committed to supporting and providing the resources required. The CEO of CUH has stated, “Lean must become a core value for consideration by leadership at all levels in the hospital”.

The establishment of a Lean Innovation Centre in CUH now provides the focus for multiple projects that will in the short and medium term deliver quantifiable improvements in patient care. In the coming months the Innovation Centre will be focusing on identifying opportunities for improvements in the delivery of cancer care, cardio-thoracic surgery pathways and endoscopy services.

The development of the Lean Innovation Centre intends to centralise and coordinate the efforts of existing qualified staff and those currently partaking in Lean Sigma courses to capitalise on the experience and understanding these staff members possess and strategically develop plans for change in service delivery. The opportunities for CUH to use Lean and Six Sigma to effect change in patient care, service delivery, individual and corporate performance and many other dimensions are immense.