Abstract
This paper draws on the findings of three evaluations, two Hospitals and a Mental Health Trust in
England, on the implementation of Lean within Health Care. The paper analyses the case studies not
only to assess if the approach taken was process or continuous improvement but also to evaluate the
degree to which conditions of readiness related to Lean were present. Organisational readiness
factors include understanding of the process/system view, customer view, data and engaging the staff
to ensure that Lean is not just about making poor processes more efficient by focusing on the tools.
The paper introduces a typology of Lean implementation which could be used to situate organisations
to understand their relationship between the approach taken and, the state of the conditions of
readiness thus the level of sustainability which could be achieved.
Key words: Lean, Health Care, Organisational Readiness, Sustainability