Finding better ways to reduce waiting lists

Richard Finley, outpatients team

We knew that attending outpatient clinics was a source of stress and disruption to many patients, especially for those who had to travel from outside the area. So we wanted to give patients the opportunity to talk to their clinicians from the comfort of their own home. Hence the idea of a virtual outpatient clinic was born. It had the added benefit of enabling the clinicians to see more patients in the same amount of time, therefore reducing patient waiting times.

I gathered the financial information and patient feedback required to present a compelling case for change to the Board and they supported it. Now we had to deliver it. That took a huge amount of teamwork. We had people from our clinical, administration, HR and IT teams working on the project and together we delivered the new system.

It’s incredibly satisfying to know that, even though I don’t have direct contact with patients, I can still make a huge difference to their experience.  I’m delighted that my efforts have contributed to a service improvement and I am very grateful for the recognition that I received as a result.

Find out where Richard's career has developed in his 2019 update.

Join our team

Richard is now an informatics manager at UHS - part of a team that, among other things, monitors and reports on the Trust’s performance across a range of different topics, to help improve the organisation.

'It can be challenging at times - we have to consider such a huge number of different variables, monitor key performance indicators and cope with the sheer volume of patients that are treated at UHS. With a great number of different improvement projects going on, it’s important that we prioritise the various different bits of information we act upon.

'There are so many good things about my job – it’s hard to choose just one thing, but I’d have to say that I really enjoy the challenge in investigating the puzzle, interrogating information in different ways to get to the truth at the bottom of the data. It’s almost like a mystery that we have to try and solve.

'Working in the NHS is like working with family - everyone’s in it together. Because it’s such a large organisation, there are opportunities everywhere. I couldn’t recommend it more for anyone looking to start their career journey.'

Want to join a team making a difference to patients? Find our current administrative vacancies here.