Process Improvement Project Implementation

In the capacity of a project leader, it is my role to ensure that the proposed service improvement roles are implemented once the hospital management and the owners have approved my suggestions and offered their input as well. Everything is determined by the size of the budget availed for the project. There are several things to consider to ensure that project leader can easily start of the project; there is need to identify the methods and strategies to use in effecting change supported with reasons. The expected impact of the change by the service improvement shake up and how it is to be achieved, a timeline of achieving the changes as well as the route of the communication processes of effecting the change to the stakeholders.

Phase II

The best method to use in implementing the changes would be to identify which of the patient beds are most dilapidated. The second step to take is to find better quality of beds that will last longer in good condition. Swapping these beds will make both economical and health sense to the stakeholders. When making a major hospital purchase, the suppliers can always offer discounts for the prices. Being the ICU section of the hospital means that the operation is extremely delicate. Changing a bed and ensuring it is safe for a patient will take time because the nurses will have to do it themselves as they understand the patient’s conditions better. It is a complicated procedure as well because some patients cannot be moved frequently while at the same time, when they keep using the old beds, the risk of them coming back with complaints of back pains increase. This process takes the lean six sigma model of change (Cousins, 2017). It is the best model to ensure that problems get solved, services are improved and at the same time, no waste of resources and time are incurred during the process. This process is also more effective than the other approaches because it takes relatively less time for people to get the benefits of the changes and improvements.

The business functions that will be altered by the action plan is that the hospital will spend less money in treating patients of complications caused by faulty beds and equipment used in the nursing process. It is a process that will save the hospital’s reputation, improve the quality of services offered by the nurses as well as reduce the number of readmissions. Once the management has approved of the budget, they will further make the purchases at which point, when the beds and equipment are delivered to hospital, I will take up the responsibility of managing the switch. As the nurse manager, I will ensure that the change process is easy on the patients and conducive in making their recovery better. This will make it easier for doctors to record positive improvement regularly among the patients in the ICU sections of the hospital (Filev, 2017). The best timeline for this proposed improvement program would be six months. This is where the problem is identified and solutions identified. The solutions are then implemented. The timeline should be as follows;

Proposed time taken	Activity
1 month	This time should be used by the management and the owners of the hospitals to deliberate on the viability of the project and review the proposed costs of the project.
3 months	This is the time that the management should spend looking for suitable suppliers of the beds and equipment. This is enough time for the management to negotiate for better prices and delivery terms as well.At this time the management can place the orders and payments for the equipment
1 month	The suppliers at this point should be guiding the hospital on how to install and adjust the equipment. This is a training period for the nurses and the general staff who work in the ICU section of the hospital.
2 months	This time is enough for the changes to be made and the progress of the patients monitored. This is enough time to see whether the new beds and equipment are helpful to the patients.

The most effective communication plans are those that will involve all the stakeholders. The powerful and most interested parties are the ones to be briefed regularly on the progress of the project. This is the management who have direct access to the owners of the hospital and can influence the budgetary allocations. The owners of the hospital have to be supplied with timely information and how the progress of the changes develops. It is important for any project leader to ensure that people can also keep track of the changes taking place. Keeping communication lines open is important for any business or organization.

Phase III

The specific metrics to be sued in monitoring the success in the changes after the implementation of the project will have to be thorough. The metric is the term used to refer to the positivity or negativity levels of project changes in the organization. The best metric to use in this case is the project performance metrics. This is the method that will incorporate all aspects of the changes and equate them to the rate of success achieved. The metric will evaluate the success levels enabled by the procurement of the new beds and equipment. The progress of the project can only be evaluated if it goes according to plan and the implementation is seamless. Monitoring progress takes longer where the patient’s recovery experiences are made better. There is also an issue of ensuring that the management is informed and consulted regularly on the cost savings or over spending by the changes in the ICU section. The positive changes can also be informed by the nurses being asked for their opinion on the working conditions after the change is made. Nurses reporting less injuries on their part as they strive to cater to the needs of the patients is a positive feedback. This is all part of the project performance metrics (PROSCI INCORPORATED, 2017). The issue of time is also an important factor to consider. When the timelines are followed strictly, then the project can be considered a success. It is also important for any project proposal to have timelines which will then be used as yardsticks for evaluating the success of the project to the hospital operations. The speed at which the proposed changes are discussed, approved and implemented determines the success of any project in any organization. In this case, one year is enough for changes to be confirmed in the hospital’s ICU section to evaluate for positivity or failure. 

References

Cousins, M. (2017, April 20). What is Lean Six Sigma? Retrieved from Triaster Blog: blog.triaster.co.uk/blog/what-is-lean-six-sigma-tools-for-process-improvement

Filev, A. (2017, September 27). Critical Path Method in Project Management is Easy. Retrieved from Project Management: googleweblight.com/i?u=https://www.wrike.com/blog/critical-path-is-easy-aas-123/&grqid=Zd65ep7c&hl=sw-KE

PROSCI INCORPORATED. (2017). Change Management Measurement and Metrics. Retrieved from Prosci: www.prosci.com/change-managemnt/thought-leadership-library/measuring-change-managemnt-effeciveness-with-metrics