MENTAL HEALTH Collaborative Programme

Demand, Capacity, Activity & Queue

Is your service unwell? Do you recognise any of the following symptoms?

• Tired clinicians

• Disgruntled referrers

• Agitated managers

• Dissatisfied patients

• Growing waiting lists

• Failed waiting list initiatives

• Increasing workload

• No time to organise or think ahead

• Becoming hopeless

Take a moment to imagine a service where…

• Your service is without a waiting list

• There are no unnecessary delays before service users are seen

• Clinicians are able to focus their energy on treating people

Improve the health of your service by using DCAQ

This presentation:-

• introduces Systems Improvement thinking;

• explores reasons why queues might exist, and;

• defines DCAQ in the Mental Health context.

Systems Thinking

Design

Implement

Evaluate

Systems Improvement

Understand

Build Relationships

UseInformation

DCAQ

Activity Queue

Capacity Demand

Systems Perspective

Traditional Responses

Training Waiting List Resource Initiatives

Systems Perspective

Process Variation Waste

Queue Management

time

Demand Capacity

Queue

Target

Queues can exist for variety of reasons

Systems Perspective

The amount of time needed to manage those referrals that chose to use your service

Demand in Mental Health services

Systems Perspective

Influence and manage the Demand for your service

There are Different Types of Demand

Actual Demand Created Demand

Failure Demand Hidden Demand

What might influence Demand?

• Referral pathways • Opt-in and booking systems• Allocation mechanism(s) • Streamline the process• Reduce waiting lists• Do things right first time• Prevention and service user education• Review and discharge protocols

For example

Capacity in Mental Health services

How much work you can do in a given time period

Can measure it in different ways e.g.– How many service users you can see– How many hours you have available for face to face

work

Ideas to extend Capacity

• Reduce process steps• Optimise how long each step takes • Distribute work to appropriate staff • Redesign roles• Additional investment

So What Now?

Time to get started!