It’s important you get your baby immunized on schedule!
…and then I told her the next appointment was two months from now!
Nurse Conversation Admin Staff Conversation
Background
• Public Health promotes timely immunization of infants and toddlers
• Unofficial (provincial) standard is two weeks to next appointment
• Access has grown to over 50 days in several health units at Island Health
• Credibility of Public Health is at risk• Most importantly infants and toddlers are at
risk
Aim of Project
Access to the 3rd next <2 year old Child Health Clinic appointments will be improved from 57 days to 14 days at the Nanaimo Health Unit, and the satellite office of Princess Royal Family Centre by March 31, 2015.
Team MembersName Role/Responsibilities
Brett Hodson Overall Project Management Leadership and Coordination
Marie Duperreault Site and Change Management Leadership
Tricia Fothergill Site change design and leadership
Erin Kenning Site change design and leadership
Lynn Mason Administrative data gathering and change leadership
Helen Von Bucholz Project Support
Sandra Guerrier HR Business Partner
Changes Tested• Survey of Clients to determine acceptability of
time to access appointments (14 days to 28 days), and drop in clinics
• Determine real time appointment demand• Reduced ‘drop in’ clinic availability to once a
week from twice a week• Eliminated fee for service activities• Added 34 of total 49 appointments per week
needed to meet demand
Results so Far
Results so Far
Elimination of Thursday Drop In
Elimination of Thursday Drop In
Start of Measles outbreak concerns
"Reduced Service Week"
Comparison of Grant and Princess Royal Service Delivery Sites
Date
Lessons Learned• Half of clients who accessed drop-ins prefer
booked appointments• Pre-intervention study and assessment revealed
overall lack of capacity• Adding capacity improves short term outcomes,
however holiday period and unanticipated events may confound intervention
• Staff report mixed feelings about improved time/task management capability
Next Steps: Future Focus
• Continue to collect data to:– Monitor time to access appointments– Collect additional data on real time
appointment demands to determine need to add capacity to reach full 49 total appointments as per original plan
– Develop sustainability for this specific work at the local office
– Plan to disseminate findings
Contact Information
Brett Hodson, ManagerPublic Health [email protected]@hodson4qph