The Quality Unit at Hospital Valdecilla has received accolades at the recent National Congress of the Spanish Society of Healthcare Quality (SECA) held in Gijón. The unit was awarded for the Best Communication of the Congress and the Best Communication in the area of Quality Management. The winning project, titled ‘Building value with Lean Healthcare: eight years of healthcare transformation in a tertiary hospital’, triumphed over more than 800 proposals from across Spain.
Led by the Quality Unit team, with Mª Concepción Fariñas as the primary author alongside Ana Mª Ruiz, Virginia Flor, Leticia Calvo, Erick Alfonso Lino, and María Ángeles Ballesteros, the project is notable for its ambitious, cross-cutting approach. It aims to move beyond traditional service-oriented views to redesign the hospital experience based on the actual journey of patients.
Over the past eight years, Valdecilla has implemented Lean methodology, redesigning patient flow in ten key areas, which has eliminated unnecessary waits and tasks that do not add value. This system has resulted in the creation and enhancement of vital protocols, such as those for severe trauma (adult, paediatric, and obstetric) and stroke codes, as well as processes in surgical and maternity units.
The outcomes of this transformation have had a direct and measurable impact on patient health and public perception. For instance, the reorganisation of the Trauma Code has reduced the average hospital stay from five to three days and decreased mortality rates from 5.8% to 3.6%. Additionally, overall patient experience and satisfaction have reached an impressive Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 76, rising to 90 in critical care areas. Four hospital services have also achieved the rigorous international quality certification ISO 9001.
Beyond management tools, the true success and innovation of this project lie in the cultural shift achieved through the extensive involvement of staff. A total of 338 professionals from various categories participated directly in 12 improvement groups, alongside over 600 workers and 24 patients who contributed their insights in various workshops. They identified areas for improvement and facilitated the necessary changes.
“That’s why the award belongs to the professionals of Valdecilla,” emphasised Mª Concepción Fariñas, head of the Quality Unit. “The improvement of healthcare is built day by day by everyone who treats, cares for, and supports patients and their families. The Quality team facilitates and coordinates, but what the jury has recognised is the commitment of the hospital’s professionals, sustained over eight years. Better care is not found; it is built together,” she concluded.
In addition to this recent success, Santander will host the XLIII edition of the National Congress of the Spanish Society of Healthcare Quality (SECA) in 2027. This achievement is the result of collaborative efforts from professionals within the Cantabrian Health Service (SCS) and the Cantabrian Society for Healthcare Quality (CanQa). Making Santander the national capital of quality and patient safety will provide an unparalleled opportunity to showcase the talent of the SCS teams and attract hundreds of experts from across the country.
