Healthcare on the High Street – Research Diagnostic Facility
Context
Akeso supported Moorfields Eye Hospital in the implementation of a first-of-its-kind Research Diagnostic Hub to explore new ways of providing excellent patient care in the community.
Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre (MBRC), in partnership with UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, looked to establish a first-of-kind ophthalmology research diagnostic hub which would test methods to reduce patient visiting time and improve patient experience.
Funded through NIHR, the initiative aimed to set out the key principles for delivery of care in the community which would be applicable for any high-volume NHS outpatient setting, such as orthopaedics and cardiology.
Methodology
We supported MBRC to design, plan and build a research diagnostic hub at Brent Cross shopping centre in North London through the following activities:
Strategic Vision and Operating Model
Defined the strategic vision to inform the scope and operating model of the facility.
Stakeholder-Driven Planning
Delivered robust planning from the outset, with involvement from multiple stakeholders, to capture dependencies at each stage and ensure delivery to budget.
Demand and Capacity Modelling
Modelled demand and capacity through patient activity and workforce modelling across the whole patient pathway to plan and forecast patient flow.
Phased Operating Models
Designed, planned and implemented four phased operating models to test patient flow and enhance efficiencies in a controlled live environment.
Environment and Real-Time Assessment
Explored various build environments and real-time tracking to assess movement of staff and patients within the clinic.
Impact
Through the ‘one stop shop’, established in a major London shopping mall, MBRC were able to:
Reduce patient visiting time from nearly 2 hours to 45 minutes
Reduce DNAs from historic levels of 15–20% to below 10%
This initiative successfully demonstrated the viability of delivering efficient and patient-friendly diagnostics in community settings and provided a scalable model for future high-volume outpatient services.
