Summary: We supported Homerton Healthcare Hospital Foundation Trust pro-bono to secure over £950k funding across three Trust charities in the North East London ICS, working in community partnerships to bring measurable health outcomes to communities negatively impacted by COVID-19. The Challenge: In 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic hit, Captain Tom Moore and many others raised …
Delivering improvements to discharge practices
At Akeso & Company, we are extremely saddened by the current healthcare crisis caused by the unprecedented NHS capacity constraints which is threatening the lives of so many of us this winter. According to the latest discussions at No10, the Government’s response to this challenge is an improved discharge to medically fit patients that is enabled …
Technology-enabled virtual wards the future of healthcare
With an elective care backlog in excess of 7 million [1], record high workforce shortages [2] and decaying estates, our healthcare system is close to breaking point. Numerous tools have been deployed to try and combat these problems, but they continue to fall short of the mark. Not all hope is lost though. Driven by …
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Discharge to Assess: Where the rubber hits the road
There are seven key steps to generating traction and improving the discharge-to-assess pathways. These are a mix of technical development in respect of discharge-to-assess (such as the establishment of agreed patient strata) and the generic challenges of change management (such as engagement, communication, and skills building). The first 3 phases (which are the planning phases) …
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Transforming homes into hospitals
D2A pathways and associated practices are key tools in expediting patient discharge, relieving pressure on the acute environment and improving patient flow [1,2]. Although effective on their own, by applying technology in new and innovative ways, these pathways can be further enhanced to generate further benefits. Supporting technology is best viewed as ‘catalysts’ for D2A …
I’m a patient get me out of here
As the first article in this series highlighted, too many people are spending too long in an acute setting, well beyond the point of clinical need. One in six beds in these hospitals are occupied by patients who would be much better served in their usual place of residence. Furthermore, with an elective backlog of …
Discharge to Assess: What You Need to Know
When the new Health Secretary, Therese Coffey, was appointed she detailed her priorities for the NHS. These were A, B, C, D, or in other words, ambulances, backlogs, care, and doctors and dentists. Critical to the current challenges facing the health system is the ability to create and ensure bed capacity. Currently, one out of …
Technology-enabled Virtual Wards
How hospital grade remote monitoring technology can enable the delivery of high-impact patient outcomes. Technology-enabled Virtual Wards have arrived, are you ready? The NHS must establish 24,000 Virtual Ward beds by December 2023 to support a targeted increase of 30% in elective care procedures by 2025. The delivery of effective ‘in-hospital’ patient care depends on …
Creating more effective Estates and Facilities strategies through the Integrated Care Systems model
Estates and facilities (E&F) management plays a critical role in the delivery of all healthcare services. Every department or location depends on E&F services, with each facing unique challenges. These challenges have been significantly exacerbated by recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit, which have placed even greater pressures on supply chains and …
Overcoming the barriers to developing future-ready community diagnostic services
Even before the pandemic began, demand for diagnostic services of all types were rising and, in some cases, outstripping capacity. Covid-19 has exacerbated this problem, deepening the diagnostic backlog with knock-on effects for cancer and elective care. However, it has also demonstrated what is possible. Seemingly complex changes were implemented at a pace not seen …
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Preparing for the challenges of tomorrow with robust continuity planning
Risk management processes play a key role in building the resilience a business needs to operate smoothly during disruption. This is particularly the case in pharmaceutical and MedTech businesses, in which supply chains are often complex and services are multi-layered. Disruption can come in many forms, including challenges caused by the rapid growth to regulatory …
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Reshaping long neglected sterilisation services to meet the increased demands of a post-Covid world
As recent headlines have highlighted, the NHS backlog in routine operations and procedures has reached worrying heights during the pandemic. Data from NHS England shows that currently more than 5 million people in England are waiting for hospital treatment, with 3.63 million fewer elective surgeries carried out between April 2020 and May 2021. Meeting this …
Akeso & Co’s view on the Department of Health & Social Care’s draft data policy
What is being proposed? In light of rapid digital advances triggered by the pandemic, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) is developing a more sustainable and long-term data strategy. This strategy is designed to support the digital transformation needed to improve patient care across the health and care sectors. The new strategy has …
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Contracting Managed Equipment Services – A unique legal and procurement perspective
Managed Equipment Services (MES) can support in meeting a number of objectives for NHS providers -reducing capital spend, managing risk and improving service delivery, but scoping them and contracting for them can be challenging. During this webinar, Beth Loudon and Chris Robson from Akeso & Company were joined by Jonathan Hayden and Rachel Whitaker from …
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Adapting your supply chain to life outside the European Union
The UK may have left the European Union (EU) with a trade deal, but for those involved in Healthcare supply chains that does not mean it is back to business as usual. Although the worst-case scenario of a no deal has been avoided, there are still challenges for those tasked with maintaining the continuous supply …
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Making the most of managed equipment services
At a time of constrained NHS budgets and competing financial demands, it’s no surprise NHS managers are turning to managed equipment services (MES). But implementing them isn’t easy. In this article, we dig deeper into some of the challenges you might face when implementing an MES and how you can overcome them. An innovative commercial …
Building a resilient supply chain – lessons from the pandemic
The Coronavirus pandemic has tested supply chains to their limits over the past few months. And with annual winter pressures and a second wave speeding through the country, we need to make sure we’ve learned everything we can from 2020, in order to avoid patients carrying the consequences of a broken supply chain. The disruption …
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The UK Private Healthcare Market: What does the future hold?
An omnipresent COVID virus and an impending recession could have significant repercussions on the UK’s private health care sector. A prolonged recovery is likely to impact both providers and insurers. Where are we now? In March, access to independent providers of healthcare in the UK was effectively suspended as capacity was re-purposed to support the NHS’ response to COVID-19. Almost overnight an ‘at cost’ reimbursement model replaced …
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Value-Based Healthcare
Michael Porter’s original vision was an ambitious one; ‘a strategy that will fix healthcare’. In his book which introduced the concept of ‘Value-Based Healthcare’ (VBH), entitled ‘Redefining Health Care’, Porter laid out what he believed would be a new way of thinking. In doing so, he made the case for delivering the best patient outcomes …
Revealing the Real Benefits and Lessons Learned from Inventory Management Solutions in NHS Hospitals
When it comes to innovation in healthcare, it is all too easy to lose sight of the progress made and where we have come from. Back in 2014, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) mandated that all NHS trusts in England must adopt GS1. This led to Scan4Safety and, subsequently, the launch of …
Brexit: Pragmatic steps to managing supply chain uncertainty
As with any level of national preparation, the uncertainty of the coming weeks poses a headache for those tasked with maintaining our healthcare supply chain. With only a matter of a possible seven weeks to go until the 31st October 2019 deadline to leave the EU, there are a number of risks and unknowns organisations …
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NHSX – What we have learnt so far
The digitalisation of the NHS is a longstanding and well documented challenge facing healthcare organisations. Following the NHS Long term plan, which outlined the key role data and digital technology will play in delivering improvements across the NHS, NHSX (denoted NHSX) was born. Launched by Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, the joint organisation for data and …
Harnessing healthcare efficiencies using three supply chain concepts
Ensuring continuity of supply in healthcare whilst the UK exits from the EU has brought the supply chain into new focus for many providers across the NHS. Progress made following the Carter report and Scan4Safety initiatives is to be lauded and has guided development in the healthcare supply chain. However, there are a number of …
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Leveraging the value of innovation & disruptive technology in healthcare
The term ‘disruptive’ often has negative connotations, but when it comes to innovative technology in healthcare, it is overwhelmingly positive. While there is little doubt the health and social care system will see considerable clinical and operational gains from the implementation of emerging innovation, it still has a long way to go to be considered …
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Delivery of a Collaborative Procurement Programme for the Shelford Group
The Shelford Group is the largest collaboration of hospitals in the NHS, consisting of 10 leading multi-specialty academic healthcare organisations employing over 100k people and with a turnover of over £10bn. It was formed in 2011 to share practice in patient care, clinical research and education, and to represent the NHS and engage with key …
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Akeso&Co recognised as a Leading UK Management Consultancy in Healthcare & Life Sciences by the Financial Times
Akeso&Co have been awarded ‘recommended’ status in the Healthcare & Life Sciences sector of the Financial Times’ UK’s Leading Management Consultants 2019 survey. We received “a significant number of recommendations from peers and clients” and thank our clients that contributed to this success. As a team we are delighted to be included on the list …
Medicines Shortages: The Real Underlying Issues
Our conversations with NHS Chief Pharmacists around their top challenges and issues almost inevitably end up on the topic of medicines shortages. It is, therefore, interesting to see this topic hit the headlines today: “Pharmacists warn of a surge in shortage of common medicines” (link to BBC News article here). As with many news headlines …
Reducing the cost of Diabetes Care through centre-led standardisation and sourcing of Blood Glucose Monitoring products
Following a 30% growth in England over the previous five years, Diabetes medicines spend exceeded £1bn in the financial year 2017/18. Almost 20% of the £1bn spend was on ‘Diagnostic and monitoring’ devices, which mainly consists of Test Strips for Blood Glucose Monitors used in self-monitoring by patients. Our research and client experience indicates that …
The NHS genomic service could transform medicine
Akeso&Co have enjoyed working with the NHS genomics service through our Diagnostics, Pathology & Therapy Services and Technologies to develop a competitive approach for the strategic sourcing of genomics consumables. Read the full article.
Consultancy.uk: NHS selects 107 consultancies for Management Consultancy Framework
Akeso&Co is among a group of 107 management consulting firms the NHS has selected to assist the institution’s complex strategic, organsiation and transformational changes over the next five years. As well as the world’s largest professional services and strategy consulting firms, the list also features a number of boutique and healthcare specialists. Read the full …
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Health Service Journal: Purchasing chief promises ‘route to innovation’ for suppliers
Akeso&Co is tasked with delivering savings from purchasing “diagnostic equipment and associated consumables” for the NHS, after winning a £9m contract from the Department of Health and Social Care in January. Managing director Chris Robson told HSJ one of his main priorities during the next five years is to make it easier for the NHS …
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Health Service Journal: Nine trusts plan pharma network to save £17m
Akeso&Co have helped to deliver a pioneering collaboration project between nine acute trusts in West Yorkshire on a pharmaceutical network that could achieve efficiency savings estimated at more than £17m. Akeso&Co supported the opportunity assessment, solution design and outline business case to deliver forecasted one-off savings of £4.5m by creating a central medicines store, and …
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Akeso & Company joins the MCA
The Management Consultancies Association is delighted to announce that Akeso & Company is the latest management consulting firm to join the Association. Specialising in the field of Healthcare and Life Sciences, Akeso & Company is an independent management consultancy offering experience and expertise in Procurement, Supply Chain and Healthcare Operations, delivering high value and lasting …