Evaluation of implementation of 5S Campaign in urban health center run by municipal corporation, Gujarat, India

Abstract

Background: Despite significant progress in improvement of Government health care delivery system over past decade, community is reluctant to accept it because of substandard level of quality. "5S" is one of the strategies used to improve the physical quality and work efficiency of organization. 5S stands for five Japanese words which can be translated in English as Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain. Rajkot Municipal Corporation has adopted 5S strategy within its health centers with the aim to improve image of public health care facility among community and thereby to increase coverage of health services. This study was conducted to assess 5S implementation status at all Urban Heath Centers under health department of Rajkot Municipal Corporation, Gujarat, India. Methods: "5S" was implemented by the corporation in campaign mode in 18 Urban Health Centers in July 2014. Campaign included training, baseline assessment, and observing 5S week. A cross sectional study was carried out by personal observation and interview to assess the implementation of 5S campaign. Standard audit check list recommended by the State Quality Assurance Cell, Gujarat was used to evaluate. Results: Overall; all five components of 5S showed significant improvement (p<0.001) with highest improvement in Sorting and Setting in order. Significant improvement in utilization of Out Patient, laboratory services, immunization, family planning services etc were observed in comparison to previous year's corresponding period. Conclusions: Significant improvement in utilization in major health care services was noted in the study after implementation of 5S. '5S' practice can be sustained with sincere and continuous efforts.

Applicability of the 5S management method for quality improvement in health-care facilities: a review

“…Our review identified service areas and geographical locations involved in the empirical 5S application. 5S was applied to primary health-care facilities [ 28 , 33 , 34 ] and different locations or sectors of hospitals, including a pharmacy [ 24 ]; an emergency department [ 25 ]; an operating room [ 26 ]; multiple departments (central supply, histology laboratory, ICU, medical-surgical inpatient care unit, and infusion center) of several hospitals [ 27 ]; a laboratory [ 29 ]; a surgical clinic [ 31 ]; multiple locations of hospitals (or without specific information about target locations) [ 32 , 35 – 38 ]; and central warehouses [ 30 ]. Of the 15 studies, six were conducted in the USA [ 26 , 27 , 29 – 31 ], one in the UK [ 35 ], and eight in low- and middle-income countries, namely Brazil, India, Jordan, Senegal, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania [ 24 , 25 , 28 , 32 – 34 , 37 , 38 ].…”

“…Depending on the studies, 5S was combined with other tools and its application was meant for different quality improvement goals. Ten of the 15 empirical studies involved the application of 5S only [ 27 , 28 , 30 , 32 – 38 ], whereas the other five studies combined several tools and methods including 5S [ 24 – 26 , 29 , 31 ]. In addition, 5S was regarded as a method under the framework of lean health-care by authors in ten studies [ 24 – 27 , 29 – 31 , 33 , 35 , 36 ] and toward better quality management (or total quality management (TQM)) in three studies [ 32 , 37 , 38 ].…”

“…Of the 15 research articles reviewed, five involved empirical 5S application as part of government initiatives, and these five studies were all concentrated in low- and middle-income countries. In these studies, the 5S application was initiated as part of the local governments’ programs in India [ 28 , 34 ] and national strategies for health-care quality improvement spearheaded by health ministries in Senegal, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania [ 32 , 33 , 37 ].…”

Implementation of 5S management method for lean healthcare in clinical biochemistry laboratory of a government hospital in India

“…One of the faculty member responded that "SOPs for equipment and analyte estimation has improved the internal as well as external quality checks." Many studies in the past have pointed out the benefits of organised and safe workplace after implementing 5S (17)(18)(19).…”

Implementation of ‘5s’ Techniques in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital

“…Sustain: To train people to practice the 5S system continuously, so that it becomes habitual and ingrained in the culture of the organisation. 3 5S is considered to be the building block or the foundation upon which lean healthcare rests. It is also defined as the process that provides the foundation for building a lean healthcare environment.…”