To ask how you pitch ideas at work?

[everysinglenight]

I’ve never really been in this situation before.

I work in healthcare, building elective lists for surgery. We have a lot of smaller cases that are quite hard to get into theatre because the bigger cases are usually more clinically urgent.

My thinking is, once a month towards the end of the month we do a “high volume, low complexity” list, where we put ten or so of these cases together and the list just runs all day doing that.

I don’t know the complexities, so I don’t really want to suggest it to surgeons before it can be properly considered. But I don’t know how It would work!

Yes this.

It all depends how you approach it. I’m kind of horrified at how many people seem
to think you shouldn’t bring it up!

It’s one person.

Probably an NHS manager who’s been there ten years minimum. Resists all change because it might make her day a little harder

I knew a brilliant woman who was the CEO of an NHS trust and she had an 'open door' scheme for people to bring ideas to her. Not in person, by email or old fashioned note, and she'd go through them every month or so and some things would get picked up/explored/actioned. Lots would get spiked ofc, having been tried and failed in the past or doomed for whatever reason, but it can be worth raising these things despite the sighs of long-timers who have 'seen it all'. Check and see if your workplace has any such schemes or ways to put ideas forward upstairs where there might be more will than your immediate bosses.

We did something similar in our workplace (also NHS) and it was quite effective and got our waitlist down for that reason.

it was all vetted before running by our MDT.

I agree with PP suggestion “I have a suggestion/something I’d like to discuss if you had 10 minutes”
If no one changes anything, then nothing changes. It’s worth a go. And it would make a difference to the people who are waiting longer.

@LentilRC1, you’re being ridiculous. I don’t know if you’re medical or have worked in theatre, but I am and I have, and on the face of it this is a very reasonable proposition which may or may not be implementable, depending on local factors. It’s certainly worth the OP raising, initially informally, with a senior colleague. Good luck, OP

EXACTLY what I said. If you bothered to read my posts. I said raise it with an experienced colleague in a casual chat

You were then also incredibly rude towards me.

Repost?

Wow, no wonder the NHS is in the shit with all the negativity you've received. I assume you're not going to pitch to someone cold with a side deck wearing a suit, but absolutely prepare 3 sentences and ask in the lift or at the coffee machine (assuming you have one). You'll probably need to ask several people to get a rounded idea of if it's really workable. You then hopefully have their backing at which point you do pitch it to whoever makes the decision, including costs and benefits. I do this all the time internally and externally. About a third of the time I find that my idea isn't workable, then if it is I can't always get the money, but that's ok.

Yes lol it’s not like im going to walk into theatre today and start doing it myself 🤣

The fact it’s been done in the past but not now may mean there’s an unintended consequence that didn’t work and that you’re not aware of. Assuming colleagues are lazy or uninterested isn’t going to win you support, so I’d think carefully about your tone and manner in chatting your idea through.

While it’s possible folk are stuck in a known way of doing things, we’ve all also had the experience of people with limited experience telling long standing trans how to change things when they don’t fully understand the knock on impacts. Absolutely speak to a couple of colleagues about your thinking, but also listen to their response if they’re seeing pitfalls.

I’ve read all your posts, obviously. You’ve made several references to the OP’s inexperience and overconfidence, neither of which you have any evidence for. You’ve snidely asked if it’s her first job, and then sarcastically wished her good luck. Do you get something out of behaving like this to internet strangers?

Not yet, still considering it. To be honest if this thread is anything to go by I’d rather not say it to avoid the absolute outpouring of anger!

Wow what negative responses! In its time Mumsnet itself was an innovation.

@OP I think this sounds like a great idea in principle, because - if it works - it would help move waiting lists along, which is, from a patient and citizen perspective, what we all want.

Yes there may be a good clinical or business management reason it doesn't work like this already. But there may not. Perhaps it's that the staff involved like things just as they are, for various reasons. What you are really asking is "how do I pitch an idea when there could be vested interests ready to block it" and "how do I lead from below to get a result".

This is what I would do.
The starting point is to (privately) have a patient impact mindset meaning that, as long as in the end, the patients get the best deal from any change of approach (whatever that may look like) it doesn't matter whether you personally get the credit or not (although it would be very nice if you did).
Then think about - who has the most to lose or to gain if your idea were to be implemented? Just for example it may be that 2 or 3 surgeons all work privately on certain days and would be resistant to changing that ... Or it would mean the admin managers have to do 2 extra hours work per week ... Or anything really.

This relies on you having a bit of insider knowledge - I think a year is long enough to have seen the lay of the land.
You will need an alliance of support to help get the new idea through, if it has legs, so your stakeholder list above will help work out who might be on the side of the new idea and who would need persuading. And who will never agree and might even try to actively or covertly block.
As PPs suggested, also have a look and see if there is a formal good ideas scheme or CEO Open Door. There may be, there may not. If there is you can consider using this.
At the same time, as PPs have suggested, based on your list of who has the most to gain, try and have an informal chat with someone - your friendliest surgeon for example - to get the ball rolling.

You will need someone senior on the clinical team to advocate the idea to the wider group, so the elevator pitch which PPs suggested is also a good idea.
Then - and this is the really hard bit, you have to wait a while whilst it makes its way through the system. It may be rejected first time round. But quietly keep going. It could take a year for the first minor surgery day to be scheduled.
Monitor the success of the new initiative - and then spread the idea. Take it out on the health service conference circuit. Do a case study for HSJ. That way you can help others too - and build your professional profile at the same time. But most of all, help the patients, which is what the NHS is for.
Good luck!!