"While the outcome of improving access was huge, it was really about delivering the best care, while taking into account the needs of the patients, the physicians, the managers and staff. It was about building communication pathways and creating a shared culture of ‘we are in this together." – Dr Charlene Lui

Addressing anxiety and wait times for patients

The Burnaby Maternity Clinic is an integral part of Burnaby’s Primary Care Network, and sees around 9000 patient visits annually.

Waiting up to three months to access services from the time of referral is not optimal. For the patients it can be an anxious time, particularly when they have unaddressed concerns, or need specific tests along the way.
 

Removing bottlenecks, tracking new referrals

 Dr Lui, with the support of a team, worked to develop an efficient system to process the multitude of referrals.

They engaged to identify a key bottleneck – creating electronic charts for new referrals, and introduced a referral tracker document to streamline the process.

Using QI methods, they made changes that led to wait times of only a few days. Patients now get timely access to primary maternity care, and OB/GYN physicians can focus on high-risk pregnancies.


Teamwork and communication drives success

The project enhanced team communication and shared understanding of roles, allowing for efficient workflows and better patient care. Even during challenging times, the team remained dedicated and managed to resume the project after a pause, achieving the goal of reducing wait-times.  
 

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