Tout lean success, not cost, Black says
The media should focus on the “thousands of improvements” achieved in Saskatchewan health care through lean, not on the consulting costs, says the government’s $36.5-million contractor.
Seattle-based lean management consultant John Black said Saskatchewan front-line health care workers have created “profound” changes that have saved money and improved patients’ experiences since he began advising them.
“(There are) amazing results by front-line workers, every day in every region in almost every facility where patient care is provided,” Black wrote in an email. “What is happening is nothing short of inspirational.”
Since last spring, the Official Opposition has hammered the Saskatchewan Party government’s fouryear contract with John Black and Associates, calling for it to be scrapped.
Among the opposition’s criticisms were confusing Japanese terminology used in the training, costly trips for Japanese “senseis” to come to Saskatchewan to teach inventory methods, and stories of frustration from front-line workers.
The initial contract, signed in 2012, was for up to four years of leading workshops and training leaders to continually find more efficient ways to serve patients and save money. Black agreed to train 880 people as lean leaders, which involves a weeklong “North American tour” to Seattle and Utah to learn from organizations that have used lean methods for more than a decade.
“WHAT IS HAPPENING IS NOTHING SHORT OF INSPIRATIONAL.” JOHN BLACK
Earlier this year, the government pared back the contract by six to nine months, and trimmed $2.6-million from the possible final price tag.
Last week, NDP Leader Cam Broten said the party had obtained documents showing Black plans to visit the province for regular “audits” after the contract expires, and that future lean leaders will be going on North American tours until December 2017.
“(Black) is going to be milking this cash cow for every last drop,” Broten said in the legislature.
On Wednesday, a health ministry spokesman said the North American tours will end in June 2015, along with the contract.
As for audits or follow up visits, the ministry has yet to decide whether any of those will happen after June.
When asked via email whether these services would come at an additional cost, Black replied, “It is not appropriate to speak to the specifics of the contract.”
He also didn’t respond to questions about whether he thinks the success of lean in Saskatchewan health care is in jeopardy because of the truncated contract. Black said he was not available for a phone interview.
Instead, he touted success stories in his email.
Improvements in the Five Hills Health Region changed the way patients are admitted to hospital and how in-patient beds are managed, which shaved 1.7 days off a medical patient’s average stay at Moose Jaw Union Hospital, making better use of limited resources, he said.
Although Black calculated how much money that would save the region, a Five Hills spokesman said the region doesn’t track savings — leaders consider how many more patients they can serve instead.
Improvements in the Saskatoon Health Region’s wound care department are allowing them to see a third more patients than before, Black said.
At Royal University Hospital, the radiology department has cut the average time it takes to triage an inpatient who needs an MRI to less than 30 minutes from four hours, he said.
Jon Schmid, director of medical imaging and nuclear medicine for the region, said that result doesn’t mean MRI wait times have dipped by 90 per cent. The improvement allows them to ensure the sickest patients get access to an MRI first, particularly when there’s a surge in demand.