Background:
A major NHS Mental Health Trust delivering services across 12 geographically dispersed localities invited Meridian Productivity to support the transformation of its community mental health administration teams. The Trust employed 86 WTE staff in admin roles including medical secretaries, receptionists, outpatient clerks, and records teams—supporting services such as psychiatry, learning disabilities, and rehabilitation.
With significant pressure on patient flow and increasing expectations on support services, the Trust faced critical inefficiencies in how administrative capacity was planned and utilised. Variation in working practices, unclear responsibilities, and poor communication between sites had led to widespread rework, duplication, and inconsistent patient experiences.
Analysis:
Meridian conducted a three-week in-depth operational review across the admin services. The study highlighted:
Significant variations in workflows, job roles, and workload mix across locations
Lack of standardisation in processes and no common performance expectations
Inadequate planning for daily workload allocation and no meaningful performance tracking
Inconsistent line management, often varying by locality
No shared visibility of capacity or available administrative resource across the system
Using performance benchmarking and live workflow studies, Meridian identified that rationalising processes and realigning roles could lead to annual cost savings exceeding £230,000 without impacting patient care.
Implementation:
Over a 12-week improvement programme, Meridian worked collaboratively with service managers, clinicians, and admin teams to drive transformational change:
Redefined roles and responsibilities, ensuring consistency across all teams and alignment to actual service needs
Introduced a Single Point of Entry (SPOE) system for new referrals, supported by a demand-led resource planner
Mapped and redesigned workflows, from referral through to discharge, across all sites and specialities
Developed a master schedule and productivity tracker, enabling forward planning and identification of surplus capacity
Implemented performance KPIs, including activity turnaround standards (e.g. 48-hour letter processing)
Delivered targeted training and coaching for supervisors to improve operational oversight, staff deployment, and root cause analysis
Critically, Meridian worked with frontline teams to embed cultural change, empowering staff to take ownership of their daily productivity while building a more flexible, responsive administrative model.
Results:
£230,000 in annualised savings delivered by optimising admin roles, reducing duplication, and eliminating inefficiencies
Productive time increased to 94%, with measurable improvements in turnaround times
Administrative workload balanced across sites, enabling resource reallocation and backlog reduction
The secretary-to-consultant ratio improved from 1:1 to 1:0.7 without compromising service quality
New SPOE process installed, offering 6-week forward visibility and enabling precise workforce planning
Improved patient service experience, with more timely communication and consistent access across all locations
With a strong management control system now in place, the Trust has the tools and behaviours to monitor admin performance in real-time, proactively manage staff capacity, and continuously improve healthcare service delivery.
