“We went to Kudai Urgent Care Clinic, and within minutes my daughter was given the medication she needed. The ER is so far away; the UCC is close. I was really happy with the experience.”
This is a quote from a member of the public in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and it illustrates perfectly why we love doing what we do.
A growing population and increased complexity in healthcare needs had combined to place unsustainable pressure on the healthcare system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). PwC was called in to help.
First, in a process involving 1,000 healthcare staff and 60,000 citizens, we designed a new Model of Care (MoC) that’s built around the patient and focused on helping people to manage their own needs through lifestyle improvements and preventative care.
The next step – and the focus of our recent work – was to test the new model and support KSA in extending and embedding the rollout sustainably. We deployed a blended PwC team of Middle East and UK consultants to optimise the capability and expertise provided, and together we set about bringing the new MoC to life.
Our strategy involved establishing pathfinder sites (trial sites in clusters of hospital and primary health centres) to test the changes required, with the aim that KSA-only teams would be self-sufficient in managing the broader rollout locally.
The results have been dramatic. The intended process of change worked, and we were able to leverage significant clinical and operational improvements across the pathfinder cluster facilities. Just as importantly, we also transferred vital change management skills to the client, and engaged key stakeholders through workshops and interviews. The tangible outcomes to this work included:
- co-developing best practice manuals and toolkits to support local two-year plans for MoC implementation;
- putting in place a learning approach whereby local staff could ‘see, do, teach’ as part of the change initiatives and build their capability for broader change;
- full documentation of progress, challenges and successes in a variety of media and at knowledge-sharing events and exchange site visits;
- plans for further rollout, including changes from lessons learnt through the pathfinder phase;
- a shift in emphasis from hospital provision to primary healthcare provision of services for less complex needs (i.e. patients going to clinics not hospital ERs for minor ailments); and
- an incredible 40,000 patients experiencing the new Model of Care.
The MoC has been confirmed as the design for how healthcare should be delivered across the Kingdom. The blueprint has been captured in project documentation and the acquired knowledge and skills of pathfinder staff. The programme to implement the model across the initial five pathfinder clusters has laid the foundations for a far wider implementation across the Kingdom, building on the experiences and lessons learnt through the pathfinder approach.
The immediate future in KSA will see more integrated working and further transition of less-complex care provision from hospitals to bespoke clinics and community care. And the project’s wider legacy is the template we now have for systemic healthcare improvements with high stakeholder engagement and fit-for-purpose governance arrangements – an excellent example for future clients to benefit from.