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SYSTEMS
ow o anisatons can es o e

u an value in ei s s e s

All organisatons need systems, but too ofen the systems become more
important than the human beings they are meant to serve. Over the last 18
months, the learning disability provider Three Cs have been developing a
methodology and running a live project, Project 17, which is about reducing
Jo Clare: In all my years waste caused by systems and releasing tme for supportng people. To date,
involvement in innovaton and
change I cannot remember they have re-designed, streamlined and piloted a new Health Acton and
being involved in a change so Emergency system, and consigned 23 forms, templates and tools to the bin.
ordinary yet unexpectedly and CEO Jo Clare explains the thinking behind Project 17, how it works and the
emphatcally popular. and the ‘people’ benefts envisaged.

nu e o un el ul elie s an compliance is a subset and servant of epithet ‘what on earth were we
A s in ou sec o ave een quality; if providers genuinely focus on thinking?’ (See below the Values Matrix).
u in e o so e t e now e quality and its bosom pal, safety,
elie a co liance is o e an compliance will naturally follow.
uali an e s in e wa o e o
e e u ice a eo le wo k One of the problems with providers
an a e wo k a e inco at le coming to grips with this part of the
an e o al a ana e s job is that systems do not automatcally
know e e an s a ow es o o speak human and system methodologies
e o . are unnecessarily mystfying.
However, you don’t have to have been
The combined efect is a neglected excess baptsed in Total Quality Management
of the wrong stuf that takes staf away or acquired a Black Belt in Six Sigma to
from direct support. Project 17 aims to understand the basics of efciency and
change that by restoring human value to human value in systems. Project 17 aligns
systems, integratng compliance, with Kaizen, the Japanese theory of ‘good
and releasing tme for support. change’, and the principle that staf who The Values Matrix – designed to
do the job are much beter placed than shrink the task mountain.
The 17 in the project ttle refers to consultants and senior managers to
Regulaton 17 of the Health and Social inform how the job can be done Usually, it is the fear of losing something
Care Act 2008 (Regulated Actvites) efciently and efectvely. Afer all, staf of small but important value which stops
Regulatons 2014, which is there to experience wasted human value directly; us from trashing otherwise low value
“make sure that providers have systems every hour spent on duplicated or poorly elements of systems like poorly designed
and processes that ensure that they are designed process wastes two human forms or templates or obsolete tools –
able to meet other requirements in… hours, one hour of their tme and and so we live with them, and their
the Health and Social Care Act” (1). expertse and one hour of direct support devaluing efect, for years. Under Project
Amongst other things, the Care Quality to someone who needs it. As a result, 17, the idea is that before anything is
Commission (CQC) say those systems and counter-intuitvely given the nature terminally trashed, it is re-examined for
and processes must “drive improvement of the subject, staf are also potentally gems which can be restored to other
in the quality and safety of the services highly motvated by system improvements more valuing parts of the system.
provided” and “assess, monitor and which, as any change manager knows, This makes trashing wasteful stuf both
mitgate any risks relatng to the health, is gold dust. safe and exhilaratng. Anything that has
safety and welfare of people using landed in upper right or lower lef boxes
services and others”. UNDERPINNED on the matrix, we can conserve or
At the heart of Project 17 is a very despatch quickly, which is satsfying for
Nowhere does CQC say “create a parallel simple matrix of human value and those involved and instantly shrinks the
universe for compliance which has system value, underpinned by task mountain.
nothing to do with the real quality of life evaluaton criteria, which is designed
and safety of the people you are to guide the way we evaluate any part The slower and harder work starts with
supportng” or “make a mountain out of any system, as well as help prioritse systems and processes that end up in the
of a molehill”. Those, in my view, are areas for atenton. Things evaluated as upper lef and lower right boxes.
provider-generated myths which, along currently high in both human and system Those evaluated as high human value
with tck boxes and back covering, value (the upper right box) are kept. but low in system value are lined up for
are unfairly ascribed to CQC, especially Things evaluated as low in human value improvement, and those low in human
when we feel under pressure. and low in system value are trashed value and high in system value are lined
Project 17 is based on a belief that (the lower lef box), ofen with the up for replacement. This last box has

20 Vol 31 No 2 | Winter 2017 o uni Living www.cl-initatves.co.uk