Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SHPU) sought support to better understand its Acute pathway and identify high impact improvements for its Home First goals.   In so doing eliminate out of area bed overspill, which hit 34 early 2025.  

Senior leadership wanted to be data-led and recognised the need for cultural change.   We deployed our triangulation approach, triangulating:

• Data – we fed the Trust’s MHSDS data and excel capture of its out of area (OOA) placements into our ‘V-Suite’ tool to visualise and deep dive into the Trust’s operating model
• Pathway walkthrough – we spent time on wards and with community teams to explore their ways of working
• Front line interviews – we listened to as many staff as possible to complete a ‘4Ns’ listening exercise

We were then able to share a detailed Diagnostic Report with the Board and fed back to individual teams.   It was clear that the Trust was not operating an orderly step up/step down Acute pathway.  Greater service model clarity was needed across and between inpatient and community teams.  

Our role was to provide ongoing visibility and subject matter expertise across the Home First programme.  We facilitated the redesign of CRHT and CMHT working closely with clinical and operational leads, which included time out with all staff to build change consensus.

Success was underpinned by improvement in grip, a willingness to take positive risk and pathway redesign.   Result: A multi-million pound reduction in OOA run rate spend without compromising safety.   Confirmed by clinical audit led by the Medical Director.

CEO quote

“VOT Health have provided unrivalled visibility over our service user journeys and distilled our operating model in ways we didn’t previously appreciate.

They are expert at engaging and facilitating our clinicians to adopt new ways of working. Their ‘one team’ approach and close working with my leadership team gives me assurance that changes are locally owned and will sustain” Salma Yasmeen, CEO