Continuity – our Achilles' heel

Abstract

The CMO and his co-authors rightly deplore the lack of meaningful progress in reducing healthcare error.1 However, the answer may be close at hand. In their informative editorial, they describe ‘Toyota's LEAN methodology’ as ‘increasingly popular in identifying inefficiency and improving performance’. It is difficult to see what benefit might accrue to healthcare in this country from following the principles of a company that is at the centre of a worldwide product safety recall of literally millions of its motor vehicles, and whose profits have plummeted through the floor in the past year. Perhaps it would now be appropriate to call time on our reliance upon inappropriate business models when looking to improve healthcare performance in both the NHS and private sectors.