The successful NHS Productives series are about ‘the how not the what’ and use a learning by doing approach which builds knowledge and skills to support frontline teams to make real and lasting improvements for themselves. This means less time on tasks that don’t add value, and more time with patients, as well as safer, better quality care and lower costs. Many provider organisations are still using the approach to raise standards and meet the challenges of today. Did you know that you can still access the module materials?

If you work in the NHS or social care you can access online (downloadable PDF) versions of the box sets free of charge using the links below.

Start your Productives journey

There are different Productives for different settings, but many of the principles are the same as they are underpinned by a standard Lean methodology, resulting in improved safety, quality and reliability of care for patients. The modules are designed to guide you through the process. We recommend you start each one with the executive and leader’s guide as part of the getting ready phase and then going onto the foundation modules.

The Productives recognise the critical role that executive boards and senior leaders play in delivering system-wide improvements. A particular focus is to align the priorities of the organisation and of frontline staff and patients, to ensure collaboration. The Productive Leader helps senior leaders to identify how to release their time to support improvement initiatives in their organisations and we recommend that senior leaders undertake Productive Leader before starting an improvement programme, which will enable them to support teams on the frontline.

• The Productive Leader
• The Productive Ward
• The Productive Mental Health Ward
• The Productive Operating Theatre
• Productive Community Services
• The Productive Community Hospital
• Productive Endoscopy

The Productive Leader

Executive boards and individuals have successfully used Productive Leader to release time to lead through improving personal productivity, making boards more effective and reducing the number of meetings. Teams and individuals can use Productive Leader to improve their personal leadership style for more visible and consistent leadership in any level of your organisation.

Getting ready:

• Executive leader guide
• start-up guide

Self-development:

• Participant pre-work
• Thinking strategies
• Communicating and influence
• Information processing
• Emotional intelligence and stress management
• Problem solving

Putting it into practice:

• Workload support tools

The toolkit contains a range of tools to support each module as you go along. The modules signal which tool to use when and how to apply it.

Going further:

• Leadership team coaching
• Email management
• Workload management
• Meetings management
• Sustaining improvement

You don’t have to complete all of the Going Further modules, just identify which ones meet your priorities.

Download The Productive Leader.

The Productive Ward

Use the Productive principles to deliver safe, quality care on your ward by increasing the time nurses spend giving direct patient care.

Getting ready:

• Ward leader’s guide
• Project leader’s guide

Getting senior buy-in:

• Executive leader’s guide

Putting it into practice:

• Productive ward toolkit

The toolkit contains a range of tools to support each module as you go along. The modules signal which tool to use when and how to apply it.

Start with the foundation modules:

• Knowing how we are doing
• Well-organised ward
• Patient status at a glance

Going further:

• Patient hygiene
• Nursing procedures
• Ward round
• Patient observations
• Admissions and planned discharge
• Shift handovers
• Meals
• Medicines

You don’t have to complete all of the Going Further modules, just identify which ones meet your priorities.

Download the The Productive Ward.

The Productive Mental Health Ward

Use these Productive modules specifically tailored to mental health wards to deliver safe, quality care, by increasing the time nurses spend giving direct patient care.

Getting ready:

• Ward leader’s guide
• Project leader’s guide

Getting senior buy-in:

• Executive leader’s guide

Putting it into practice

• Productive mental health ward toolkit

The toolkit contains a range of tools to support each module as you go along. The modules signal which tool to use when and how to apply it.

Start with the foundation modules:

• Knowing how we are doing
• Well-organised ward
• Patient status at a glance

Going further:

• Patient wellbeing
• Therapeutic interventions
• Ward round
• Safe and supportive observations
• Admissions and planned discharge
• Shift handovers
• Meals
• Medicines

You don’t have to complete all of the Going Further modules, just identify which ones meet your priorities.

Download The Productive Mental Health Ward.

The Productive Operating Theatre

Create the perfect operating list, become a high-performing team and improve the quality and safety of your surgical services using the Productive Operating Theatre. This was the first of the Productives to focus on building teams for safer care and many of the tools and approaches can be used in other clinical areas where safety improvement and team work are a key focus.

Getting ready:

• Team leader’s guide
• Programme leader’s guide

The big picture:

• Strategic positioning
• Technology

Getting senior buy-in:

• Executive leader’s guide

Putting it into practice:

• Productive operating theatre toolkit

The toolkit contains a range of tools to support each module as you go along. The modules signal which tool to use when and how to apply it.

Start with the foundation modules:

• Patient perspective
• Well-organised working environment
• Knowing how we are doing
• Patient status at a glance

Going further:

• Agreeing the care plan with the patient
• Standard care procedures
• Perfect intervention
• Managing caseload and staffing
• Planning our workload
• Working better with our key care partners

You don’t have to complete all of the Going Further modules, just identify which ones meet your priorities.

Download  The Productive Operating Theatre.

Productive Community Services

Productive Community Services is aimed at teams delivering care outside hospital, and can be used by multidisciplinary teams.

Getting ready:

• Team leader’s guide
• Programme leader’s guide

Getting senior buy-in:

• Executive leader’s guide

The big picture:

• Strategic positioning
• Technology

Putting it into practice:

• Productive community services toolkit

The toolkit contains a range of tools to support each module as you go along. The modules signal which tool to use when and how to apply it.

Start with the foundation modules:

• Patient perspective
• Well-organised working environment
• Knowing how we are doing
• Patient status at a glance

Going further:

• Agreeing the care plan with the patient
• Standard care procedures
• Perfect intervention
• Managing caseload and staffing
• Planning our workload
• Working better with our key care partners

You don’t have to complete all of the Going Further modules, just identify which ones meet your priorities.

Download the Productive Community Services.

The Productive Community Hospital

The Productive Community Hospital puts staff back in control of their clinical area to make decisions that affect them and their patients on a day to day basis, leading to safer, better quality care.

Getting ready:

• Project leader’s guide

Getting senior buy-in:

• Executive leader’s guide

Putting it into practice:

• Productive community hospital toolkit

The toolkit contains a range of tools to support each module as you go along. The modules signal which tool to use when and how to apply it.

Start with the foundation modules:

• Clinical leader’s guide
• Knowing how we are doing
• Patient involvement

Going further:

• Admission and discharge
• Forward planning
• Multidisciplinary team working
• Handover
• Patient flow
• Managing drug administration
• Good stock management

You don’t have to complete all of the Going Further modules, just identify which ones meet your priorities.

Download The Productive Community Hospital.

Productive Endoscopy

You can use Productive Endoscopy to improve the safety and quality of your endoscopy service, and help you deliver national cancer targets for 2018/19.

Getting ready:

• Programme leader’s guide

Getting senior buy-in:

• Executive leader’s guide

Putting it into practice:

• Productive endoscopy toolkit

The toolkit contains a range of tools to support each module as you go along. The modules signal which tool to use when and how to apply it.

Start with the foundation modules:

• Patient experience
• Well-organised unit
• Knowing how we are doing
• Patient status at a glance

Going further:

• Referral management
• Pre-assessment and patient preparation
• Session start-up and patient change over
• Consumables and equipment
• Handover, recovery and discharge
• Team working
• Scheduling

You don’t have to complete all of the Going Further modules, just identify which ones meet your priorities.

Download the  Productive Endoscopy Unit.

Productive General Practice Quick Start

Find out how the productive principles can be used in primary care with our Productive General Practice Quick Start programme.

PGP Quick Start provides a proven framework that is easy-to-use, practical, and flexible to help general practice staff to take a fresh look at the changing needs of patients and develop safer, more reliable and more productive services which are better for patients and staff.

Find out more on the PGP Quick Start webpage or email: england.icbd@nhs.net