In July 2015 five NHS Trusts were selected to work with Virginia Mason Institute (VMI) to develop localized versions of the Virginia Mason Production System (an adaption of the Toyota Production System, a continuous improvement approach commonly known as Lean). The goal was to develop a sustainable culture of continuous improvement capability in each of the five partner NHS hospital Trusts, and to share lessons from the partnership with NHS system leaders.

Evaluating the NHS-VMI partnership

In January 2018 a research team at WBS led by Dr. Nicola Burgess commenced an independent evaluation of NHS-VMI partnership, commissioned by the Health Foundation and NHS England and NHS Improvement. This three-year evaluation aimed to explore the impact of the partnership upon the quality and efficiency of care delivery at each trust and the degree to which a sustainable culture of continuous improvement is emerging. Specifically, the evaluation is concerned to understand how best to build a sustainable culture of continuous improvement capability in the NHS, and to gather learning on how NHS system leaders can support providers to foster and spread a culture of continuous improvement capability across the NHS.

Sharing lessons from the NHS-VMI partnership

The team at WBS is due to publish their final evaluation report in mid to late 2021. This website hosts publications, interim reports, videos and other data to share lessons from the evaluation with NHS leaders, practitioners and researchers in a timely and accessible way.

Anyone interested to learn more about the partnership and its evaluation should contact Principal Investigator Dr. Nicola Burgess Nicola.Burgess@wbs.ac.uk