KUL is moving towards real changes

Klaipėda University Hospital (KUL) has taken a significant step in the reform process. The participants of the institution – Klaipėda University and the Ministry of Health – approved the structure and management model of the medical institution, which has no analogues in the country. Consistently planned and necessary changes will be implemented by the beginning of September. The innovations being implemented will ensure more accessible treatment services and even higher quality for patients.

Based on good practices

“Real changes and reform are beginning. Finally, we can combine the currently operating branches into a unified Klaipėda University Hospital with a single and new structure of both clinical and administrative departments. Based on the good practice of foreign countries, we are establishing services and positions in the hospital, the analogues of which have not been found in any medical institution in the country until now. We are taking an uncharted, but very promising path. All ongoing changes are focused on the fact that the patients of Western Lithuania receive treatment services faster and with better quality”, said KUL General Director dr. Audrius Šimaitis.

Services – in one place

Until September, it is planned to finally connect the KUL branches that have been operating separately until now – Klaipėda Hospital, Jūrininkų Hospital and Palanga Rehabilitation Hospital. Medical professionals working here are purposefully concentrated in 18 specialized clinics and 4 centers.

According to KUL General Director temporary deputy for medicine and nursing dr. Gintautas Virketis, the newly formed clinics and centers will lead to better access to treatment services, will allow to further expand the provided services, increase their scope, and most importantly – will ensure a smoother and better patient journey in the hospital.

“The services will not be duplicated and will be provided and developed only in one strong clinic. Here, specialists will provide the patient with all the necessary assistance – from preventive programs, diagnosis to complex treatment that meets modern standards. People will no longer have to be distracted and worry about where to turn for the further course of treatment”, said G. Virketis.

The hospital will operate Women’s and Children’s, Infectious and Skin Diseases, Radiology, Oncology and Hematology, Supportive Treatment and Nursing, Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain, Orthopedics and Traumatology, Eye, Head and Neck, Surgery, Cardiac and Vascular Surgery clinics of diseases, Cardiology, Rehabilitation, Internal Medicine, Nephrology, Neurology, Neurosurgery. Targeted services will be provided by the Centers of Laboratory Medicine and Blood Bank, Pathology, Medical Genetics, Outpatient Services.

Doctors will not be burdened with administrative burden

A completely new clinic management structure is being implemented at KUL. The main innovation is that it will be led by the head of the clinic, the manager-administrator and the senior nurse, there will be no leaders in the departments.

“All doctors will become equal partners in the treatment process. The hospital departments will no longer have a hierarchical structure – we will change it to a collaborative culture. We believe that this change will allow specialists to further reveal and use their potential, which is important in providing treatment services to patients”, – the head of KUL A. Šimaitis mentioned the advantages of the changes.

According to him, KUL is making innovative changes in order to allow doctors to devote more time and attention to clinical work and the patient. Each clinic will have a manager-administrator whose main function is to take over the administrative work of doctors. This specialist will contribute to the smooth operation of the clinic, quality patient service, and will make suggestions to the manager on how to improve the current processes in order to achieve even better results and conditions for patients.

“The manager-administrator, together with the head of the clinic and the senior nurse, will organize regular meetings of the clinic team, in which they will delve into clinical and economic activities – they will evaluate and analyze indicators, discuss serious clinical cases, cases of death, non-compliance”, said A. Šimaitis.

Will pay a lot of attention to quality

The KUL structure, which will be operational from the beginning of September, includes another innovation – the Clinical Management Service. According to the head of the medical institution, it will perform not only the medical audit that currently exists in Lithuania, but also a detailed analysis of service provision and treatment processes. This practice is successfully developed in the United Kingdom, Israel, and the United States.

“We must understand what and how we treat, how it meets modern standards. We need to understand processes, analyze them, draw conclusions. Based on them, we can improve the operating model, apply the lessons learned. Such continuous organizational learning is essential for a university hospital. We aim for the quality of the services and service provided by us to be of the highest level”, A. Šimaitis explained the importance of implementing the innovation.

According to him, communication and a culture of communication with patients are very important at KUL. For this purpose, the hospital plans to expand the Patient Welfare Service, which is successfully operating in the institution. Its employees advise patients receiving treatment at the institution or their representatives on non-clinical issues related to the quality of services, mediate in examining patient requests, feedback and complaints, and inform about the services provided at the hospital.

It is consistently being prepared

The hospital responsibly and systematically prepared for the reform, and actively involved the institution’s employees and trade unions in the processes.

Klaipėda University Hospital Deputy Director General for Management and Economy dr. According to Jūratė Grubliauskienė, the “walk” towards the new structure took place intensively for several months.

“We started the process by meeting with each department of the hospital

First of all, the employees expressed how they work now, what corrections they see as necessary and possible optimization of operations. They presented their vision, which was discussed in working groups. We made decisions by cooperating, discussing, listening to and responding to the comments and suggestions of employees, trade union representatives, the Supervisory Board, and the hospital’s shareholders. This is the result of everyone’s joint work”, said J. Grubliauskienė.

The new structure, positions, and payment procedure have been repeatedly discussed and coordinated with the hospital’s founders – the Ministry of Health and Klaipėda University, the hospital’s Board of Supervisors and the Joint Trade Union Representation.

“We are turning a significant and new sheet of hospital activity. A decision was made to abolish branches, approve a new structure, and adjust the list of positions – a completely new step in the operation of the hospital. The real merging of hospitals and the real community of employees begins, learning to work in one structural unit”, says J. Grubliauskienė.

Due to the formation of a new structure, the reorganization of the institution will affect about 80 percent. workers. They will be given information leaflets about changes in working conditions.

“This procedure is necessary because the structural unit is changing for most of them. We value and cherish every employee of the institution. Our aspiration is to preserve the staff and offer people a workplace that matches their qualifications and competences”, emphasizes A. Šimaitis, head of KUL.

The management of KUL strives for equalization of the salaries of hospital employees holding the same position and working with the same workload. The hospital and the United Trade Unions have signed an agreement that commits the hospital to June 14 of this year. prepare and coordinate with the trade union a plan for equalizing employee workloads and work ratios.

KUL Communication Service

Press release