Managing Diminishing Resources Using Lean Practices in Rural Hospitals Mental Health Admission Processes

Brian Mayahle^1*, Steve Parnell², Rob Rolls³, Anthony Welch⁴, Jennieffer Barr⁵ & Fumiso Muyambo⁶

¹Team Manager, Department of Healthcare Management, CQUniversity, Australia
²Director Operations and Innovations CQHHS, Australia
³Team Manager, Central Queensland Acute Care Team and AODS, Australia
⁴Associate Professor, Associate Professor Mental Health, Discipline Head, Mental Health, CQUniversity, Australia
⁵Associate Professor, Deputy Dean of Research, CQUniversity, Australia
⁶PhD student, Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa (DiMTEC), Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

Dr. Brian Mayahle, Team Manager, Department of Healthcare Management, CQUniversity, Australia.

Keywords: Lean; Central Queensland; Rural and Remote Mental Health Service; Capability Framework

Abstract

Aim
To ensure consistent care for mental health consumers when admitted in rural and remote hospitals and subsequently contribute to the management of regional acute mental health inpatient unit beds.
Background
The admission process in Central Queensland rural mental health services has been compromised by diminishing resources and increased demand for the service. This has resulted in compromised provision of consumer care, reduced consumer engagement, poor consumer outcomes and frustrated staff.

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).