Supporting the optimisation of imaging services at NNUHHelping the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (NNUH) drive efficiencies through data analysis and workflow optimisation. 

NNUH’s Value Partnership with Siemens Healthineers has supported the trust as it has expanded its Radiology and Nuclear Medicine services, increasing patient access to innovative imaging and treatment in Norfolk. Value Partnerships are long-term, performance-oriented, collaborative engagements that provide a combination of clinical insight, medical technology innovation, strategic vision, implementation expertise and operational excellence to partners.

As a significant value driver within these partnerships, or as a standalone service, Siemens Healthineers Consulting combines in-depth knowledge of healthcare, clinical excellence and local know-how with expertise in digital transformation and operational efficiency, to enable the optimisation and enhancement of strategies and processes - from ideation to implementation.

Siemens Healthineers Consulting collaborated with NNUH on multiple projects to support its efforts to improve operational workflow, drive efficiencies and ultimately optimise services. These cover the launch of the CDC, and the expansion of the Nuclear Medicine and Interventional Radiology Departments.

Ahead of the CDC’s planned opening, NNUH was keen to stress test the deliverability of a phased patient activity plan for each of the CT, X-ray, MR and US modalities. This process would enable it to identify and mitigate potential bottlenecks and ensure optimal utilisation of imaging equipment and staffing.

To assist with this, Siemens Healthineers Consulting defined clinical pathways for the CDC, developing simulation models of each pathway and running multiple scenarios to identify optimal ways of working. The simulation modelling enabled NNUH to:

• Identify potential patient, staff and equipment bottlenecks as CDC activity levels increase in line with an agreed trajectory
• Test the deliverability of business case assumptions - activity (patients per day) and productivity (scans per hour)
• Propose booking templates, patient arrival frequency and rules to optimise patient throughput
• Identify changes in the skill mix of the CDC workforce recruitment trajectory that would balance workload across roles and modalities

A Value Partnership with Siemens Healthineers has helped NNUH to facilitate the growth and reconfiguration of the Nuclear Medicine Department, not only through access to new nuclear medicine equipment, but also via consulting support to optimise ways of working and ensure the department could get the most from the equipment. This has resulted in +5% scanning utilisation and faster examinations. 

Siemens Healthineers Consulting conducted analysis on existing assets, workflow and workforce, and facilitated a visit to a high performing peer site in East London, where best practice processes and ways of working were identified.

Through the insights obtained from this work, a shared action plan was created, demonstrating an opportunity to increase throughput across the service; identifying opportunities to improve patient flow and room utilisation and streamline workflows to enable the service to operate sustainably at 85% utilisation rate.

Elsewhere, Siemens Healthineers also supported NNUH with the creation of the new Norfolk Centre for Interventional Radiology (NCIR), an initiative that would quadruple the number of interventional suites at NNUH. To help the NNUH comprehend the financial and operational implications of adding this capacity, and understand future demand and service capacity requirements to support investment planning, Siemens Healthineers Consulting introduced interactive modelling and developed a blueprint for operational planning and service optimisation. This included: 

• Performance benchmarking: Current IR patient and procedure volumes were examined to benchmark utilisation and performance, leveraging existing intelligence, expertise and benchmarks
• Capacity assessment: A detailed review of existing IR resources was conducted to evaluate alignment with current and anticipated demand
• Scenario planning: Advanced data modelling was used to simulate future scenarios, identifying gaps and optimising resource allocation to meet evolving service needs

Siemens Healthineers Consulting has delivered data-driven analysis, insights and recommendations to NNUH that has enabled it to optimise its imaging services across multiple modalities. The Value Partnership therefore not only provides the trust with access to modern diagnostic and imaging equipment but also enables it to get the most from that equipment.

James Loughlin, Lead Radiographer at the Norfolk Centre for Interventional Radiology at NNUH, says: “It has been a massive benefit. It was really useful to get an external view on things, because when you’re working in that environment you become used to the standard way of practice. They identify the small things that we can do to improve the way we work but also examine all the data in terms of patients treated, procedures, procedure times and the way we run our lists.

"The work is ongoing and it is a real benefit to have the consulting team available to us to be able to keep on improving the service.”