• Bolton NHS Foundation Trust awarded for innovation in addressing staffing pressures
• New roster system has resulted in reduced theatre list cancellations and achieving recovery targets
• System rolled out to other areas following success

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust has been announced as highly commended for the Innovative Award for Quality Improvement at the RLDatix Awards 2023.

The Trust’s project ‘Driving Down Waiting Lists with an Innovative Staff Rostering System’ was implemented as an initiative to address staffing pressures and support elective surgery waiting lists.

The new system resulted in theatre list cancellations due to staffing issues being completely eliminated since December 2022, contributing to the Trust’s achievement of the 104-week elective recovery target.

The Innovative Award for Quality Improvement celebrates those who demonstrate outstanding innovation and leadership in improving the quality of care within their organisation.

The judges comments include:

Very good entry with examples of innovation in care, which can be replicated across all organisations, with improved patient outcomes. Very topical at present and their entry details how they completed and sustained practice.

The trust faced challenges post-pandemic, with a need to enhance patient safety by refreshing legacy workforce planning systems.

To optimise resource allocation and ensure efficient workforce deployment, the trust implemented a more sophisticated rostering system, known as ActivityManager within Allocate Optima.

Enhanced planning and management processes have resulted in the highest number of patients per session in the region, and improved compliance with mandatory and statutory training, as well as increased participation in appraisals, has been observed.

Staff now receive their rosters approximately 30 days in advance, allowing for better work-life balance and planning. The system also ensures that the right staff with specific skill sets are assigned to each shift, improving patient and staff experiences.

The successful implementation of the rostering system within theatres has led to the exploration of its application in other departments, such as pharmacy, podiatry, and day case and ophthalmology units. The Trust plans to further improve automation, optimise theatre utilisation and use data for more efficient scheduling and workforce planning.

David Mulligan, Head of Workforce Systems at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said:

Our project is an excellent example of joint working between clinical and corporate teams to achieve significant benefits.

“It has been great to see the close working between the theatres management and our e-Rostering Facilitators to solve longstanding issues. This has been realised using workforce technology we already have, with no additional cost implications, to benefit patients, staff and the Trust.

Awarded annually, the RLDatix Awards Europe celebrates the dedicated teams and individuals in health and care, who relentlessly strive to deliver exceptional care.

In a time of challenges and resource constraints, these awards recognise and give credit to those who drive improvements, champion patient safety, and go above and beyond to enhance the quality of care for all.

The full list of winners & highly commended for the RLDatix Awards 2023 can be found on their website.