Improvement cycles
| PDSA cycle | Plan/prediction | Do | Study | Act | Time required |
| Baseline | KP1: 50% KP2: 8.9 days | ||||
| A1 | Establish quiet IDM reporting hours Predictions: Without interruption from colleagues (inc. by urgent tasks and telephone calls from customers) IDM reporting scientists able to focus on reporting - better KPIs | Two sets of 1 hour quiet reporting sessions (10:00–11:00 and 14:00–15:00) Live on 06/04/2021 | KP1: 71% KP2: 8.1 days | Team preferred a longer quiet reporting session rather than two separate sessions: Worthwhile improvement, but refine: agree new quiet time | 4 weeks |
| A2 | Consolidate quiet IDM reporting hours Predictions: This would be more effective and satisfactory for staff | One 2 hour quiet reporting session (13:00–15:00) Remind team about quiet time. Live on 04/05/2021 | KP1: 78% KP2: 6.4 days | Worthwhile improvement. Retain as permanent change. | 4 weeks |
| B | Convert the manual paper worklist to an automated electronic version Prediction: Removing NNVA (manual administrative steps) will produce faster TaT | Create automated business intelligence worklist of all samples for reporting Train team on the new worklist Live on 01/06/2021 | KP1: 77% KP2: 6.7 days | No material change in the KPIs. Technical issues encountered. Eliminated manual admin steps – worthwhile (anyway): Retain as permanent change. | 4 weeks |
| C | Use RAG status column on the electronic worklist for overview of progress & actions required Prediction: Better prioritisation of workload—samples not overlooked so fewer breaches of TaT target | Add RAG status to worklist. Train team Live on 28/06/2021 | KP1: 88% KP2: 5.5 days | Worthwhile improvement. Retain as permanent change. | 4 weeks (and 5 weeks sustain) |
IDM, infectious disease monitoring; KPI or KP, key performance indicator; NNVA, necessary non-value added; RAG, Red/Amber/Green; TaT, turnaround time.