The challenge

Meridian’s emergency departments and outpatient clinics were running well beyond capacity. Average waits had climbed for three consecutive years, and clinicians were burning out trying to compensate with overtime.

Our approach

We spent the first six weeks on the wards, shadowing nurses, schedulers and discharge coordinators. The data showed that most delay came from beds not being released on time, not from a shortage of staff. We rebuilt scheduling and discharge planning with a clinical design group drawn from all 22 hospitals.

The outcome

Average waits fell by 38% and patient satisfaction rose 19 points. The programme released $64M a year in avoidable cost, which Meridian reinvested in frontline staffing.