Improving patient flow
How two trusts focused on flow to improve the quality of care and use available capacity effectively
April 2013

Key points
- This learning report describes the work undertaken by two NHS trusts as part of the Health Foundation’s Flow Cost Quality programme.
- It illustrates the problems created by poor flow that the programme was set up to address, and provides practical examples of how focusing on flow can improve quality, use available capacity effectively and save money.
- The report summarises key lessons from the programme and highlights important challenges for designing services and approaching change by focusing on flow.
Flow Cost Quality ran in two NHS hospital trusts: South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. South Warwickshire looked at the emergency flow for all adult patients, while Sheffield focused on one clinical subspecialty – geriatric medicine. The case studies that accompany the report provide more details of the work done by each of the trusts.
Each trust brought its own context, culture, challenges and opportunities to the programme. Their experiences have provided rich learning about the relationships between flow, cost and quality, and about managing large-scale change within a complex system.
The Flow Cost Quality programme built on, and contributed to, a growing body of work on improving flow. This report includes an appendix of other programmes that have aimed to improve flow, as well as suggestions of further reading.
Download the case studies
Further reading
In-depth case study
Nursing a safer future: How nurses are using proactive approaches to manage patient safety
This special supplement explores how nurses are using proactive approaches to manage patient safety.
Research report
Safer Clinical Systems: Evaluation findings
Lessons from the second phase of the Safer Clinical Systems programme.
You might also like...
Research report
A critical moment
Our third annual report analysing the staff profile and trends in the NHS workforce in England in 2018
Press release
NHS staff shortages put long-term vision for primary and community care at risk
New analysis shows NHS staff numbers are failing to keep pace with demand, and that there is ongoing deterioration in workfor...
Chart
How has the productivity of UK health care changed between 1997 and 2016?
January 2019 Chart of the Month. Between 1997 and 2016, productivity across the UK NHS grew by 20%, at an average of around 1...
Get social
Health Foundation @HealthFdn
10 tips from our recent webinar on spreading innovation and improvement in the NHS. ICYMI, you can catch up on the… https://t.co/s69WTCyAZC
Follow us on TwitterWork with us
We look for talented and passionate individuals as everyone at the Health Foundation has an important role to play.
View current vacanciesThe Q Community
Q is an initiative connecting people with improvement expertise across the UK.
Find out more