NHS County Durham – Lean in General Practice Programme

1st January 2014

Between 2008 and 2010, NHS County Durham ran an innovative project to involve general practices in improvement work using Lean (the project was known locally as the Primary Care Pathfinder Programme).

The project aimed to develop understanding of lean methodology in general practice and combined rapid process improvement workshops with coaching skills development to help practices increase their capability to make sustainable change.

Over the duration of the project, eight rapid process improvement workshops were completed in partnership with five general practices. The workshops did generate improvements for the practices and their patients, but more importantly they provided invaluable insights into how to apply lean in general practice and how to adapt it for primary care.

An improvement case study from the programme is available to view below.