Wales health staff flag ‘Silly Rules’ barriers
Hundreds of frontline staff and patients across Wales have highlighted everyday rules and procedures they say may hinder the delivery of health and care services.
A new report, ‘Silly Rules’, published on Monday 16 February by the Bevan Commission and Llais, gathered almost 800 responses.
The organisations said the feedback identified opportunities to improve efficiency and patient experience through what they describe as minor changes to systems and processes.
The Bevan Commission is an independent health and care think tank in Wales. Llais is the citizen voice body for health and social care.
Dr Helen Howson, Director of the Bevan Commission, said: “At a time when health and care professionals and leaders are already under intense pressure, we want to identify practical ways to relieve that pressure and make everyday care better. This work is about understanding the barriers people face when delivering and accessing care and recognising that rules introduced for the right reasons can become outdated or have unintended consequences.
“The response to our ‘Silly Rules’ campaign was striking and culminated in almost 800 examples of rules, habits and routines that get in the way of delivering or receiving good care. Together, they demonstrate a shared appetite for change; to simplify, streamline and strengthen the system so that time and energy are focused on effective and efficient care.”
According to estimates cited in the report, around 20 to 30 per cent of resources invested into health and care systems are lost to waste.
The majority of responses came from members of the workforce, with about a quarter submitted by the public.
Examples included a ward manager completing “six hours of paperwork” following a minor fall, and a patient being told they would need to phone to make an appointment while standing in front of a receptionist.
The initiative was inspired by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Breaking the Rules for Better Care campaign in the United States.
In Wales, responses were categorised into 10 themes, with 48 per cent falling under Operations and Service Delivery.
Other categories included Clinical Services, Communications, and Digital and Information.
Alyson Thomas, Chief Executive of Llais, said: “The responses to the Silly Rules campaign highlight something we hear every day: people want health and care systems that work with them, not against them. These examples reveal opportunities for simple, sensible improvements that could make a real difference to staff and patients. By working with the Bevan Commission and partners across Wales, we’re ensuring that people’s voices drive the changes needed to remove barriers, reduce wasted effort and build a system that delivers care in the way people expect and deserve.”
The Bevan Commission said it has developed a toolkit to help health and care organisations in Wales review their own rules, identify unnecessary barriers and implement evidence-based change.
It said it will continue working with organisations across Wales to take the work forward.
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