In this paper, the operations strategy (OS) of Gloucestershire Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust is studied. As a healthcare professional, I am familiar with the settings, and the NHS trusts are large public companies that publish their business plans. Therefore, these plans can be used without disclosing any confidential information, and the analysis is of relevance to my experience.
OS Design
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS [GHNHS] (2015, pp. 9, 13) trust explicitly states that its OS is based on the currently active strategic plan, which is continuously adjusted to the socioeconomic context of Gloucestershire and England. Moreover, the strategy is designed to correspond to the values, mission, and vision of the trust. The values of GHNHS (2015, p. 5) are patient-centric. Thus, it appears that GHNHS (2015) works to make its operations management (OM) strategically aligned (Bamford & Forrester 2010).
OS Implementation
GHNHS (2015, p. 13) tends to implement its strategies with the help of programs. Within the programs, GHNHS (2015) uses a variety of tools, including rules and guidelines, staff training and management, managerial activities, and others. Also, GHNHS (2015, p. 14) has the Gloucestershire Safety & Quality Improvement Academy that provides continuous training. Moreover, monitoring programs are used to check out the implementation of the strategy (GHNHS 2015, p. 13), which is essential for successful operation (Bamford & Forrester 2010).
OM Scope
A major part of GHNHS (2015) OM is healthcare service, which includes the quality of care, the safety of patients, and patient experience. Also, GHNHS (2015) mentions its financial, managerial, supply, and IT operations. Finally, human resource operations (especially education) are of greatest importance to GHNHS (2015, p. 14).
CSFs and CCs
Critical success factors can be defined as the necessary requirements for a company’s success while core competencies are the skills, resources, and their combinations that ensure competitive advantage of a company (Duarte, Goodson & Dougherty 2013). The CSFs of GHNHS (2015) include high-quality care, patient safety, NHS trust reputation, and the national public coverage. The primary CC of GHNHS (2015) is its skilled workforce; also, the trust is dedicated to IT adoption, which has already become its CC due to its “Smartcare” program. It is apparent that the OS of the trust takes its CSFs and CCs into account.
Meeting the Needs of Customers
Patients are central to the majority of GHNHS (2015, p. 5) activities, and its programs are typically aimed at the continuous improvement of patient safety and experience. This focus on customers is a wise strategy (Goodson 2002; Lewis & Brown 2012). Also, GHNHS (2015) investigates the environment to meet the needs of customers.
Competitiveness
As a part of NHS, GH has a noticeable competitive advantage. It is funded by taxation, and it has earned a positive reputation (GHNHS, 2015). However, the healthcare sector is not devoid of competition in England (Matthias & Brown 2016), and private services are also available for a fee. Moreover, like the majority of healthcare companies (Matthias & Brown 2016), GHNHS (2015) finds it necessary to compete with oneself through continuous improvement to ensure patient safety, care quality, and cost reduction, which can be achieved through proper OM (Bamford & Forrester 2010).
It appears that GHNHS (2015) has a sound OS that is strategic, planned and controlled and that takes into account the trust’s CSFs and CCs, which helps this OS to promote the trust’s competitiveness.
Reference List
Bamford, D & Forrester, P 2010, Essential guide to operations management: concepts and case notes, 1st ed, Wiley, London.
Duarte, N, Goodson, J & Dougherty, T 2013, ‘Managing innovation in hospitals and health systems: Lessons from the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Winners’, International Journal of Healthcare Management, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 21-34.
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS 2015, Operational plan 2016/17, Web.
Goodson, RE 2002, ‘Read a plant-fast’, Harvard business review, vol. 80, no. 5, pp.105-113.
Lewis, M & Brown, A 2012, ‘How different is professional service operations management?’, Journal of Operations Management, vol. 30, no. 1-2, pp. 1-11.
Matthias, O & Brown, S 2016, ‘Implementing operations strategy through Lean processes within health care’, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 36, no. 11, pp. 1435-1457.