Kaiser beacons shine light on NHS practice

A little like 'golden generation' of English footballers', the phrase Kaiser Permanente has all but disappeared from the health policy lexicon as a byword for innovation.

Only a few years ago, the US healthcare organisation was the subject of fierce debate about the lessons it could bring to healthcare delivery in the NHS. It appeared to show much lower levels of bed usage amongst its US patients ? the argument was about why, and whether it was replicable in the UK.

And after its champion in the form of then health secretary Alan Milburn moved on there was apparent quiet.

However, as our feature on the work of Birmingham University shows, some trusts are now achieving dramatic reductions in length of stay by applying Kaiser principles.

The Torbay health economy has, for instance, brought its acute and primary care trusts together to transform its traditional community hospital stock and plan an acute facility with 20 per cent fewer beds.

Meanwhile, Northumbria has focused on use of care facilitators to actively manage length of stay ? for most common causes of admission, the figure is now half the national average. It has also formed a three-hospital network, with medical staff working across sites.

And in Birmingham and Solihull, the Working Together for Health programme has combined intermediate care teams, community-based triage and centres specialising in managing long-term conditions.

In their focus on engaging with clinical priorities, forging closer relationships between organisations and combining new processes with new technology, all three beacon sites show that Kaiser might no longer be a buzzword, but its impact is long-lasting.