The Challenge
A referral centre was carrying a daily backlog of 30 percent, meaning nearly a third of all referrals were unprocessed at the close of each working day. Staff were navigating a 20-step process with multiple handoffs, frequent rework, and no standardization to guide consistent execution.
The backlog was not shrinking. It was growing, and patients were waiting longer as a result.
The Approach
A comprehensive workflow redesign addressed the root causes of backlog and delay:
- Unnecessary process steps were eliminated, cutting the total from 20 to 9
- Roles were clarified to remove ambiguity about who was responsible for each step
- New sequencing removed the bottlenecks that had been compounding delays
- Staff received clear expectations that enabled faster, more consistent output without the guesswork that had previously slowed them down
The Outcome
The backlog dropped from 30 percent to zero, establishing a predictable daily flow for the first time. Process steps were reduced from 20 to 9, a 55 percent simplification. Processing time declined by 67 percent, giving staff more available capacity and significantly reducing stress within the team.
Accuracy also improved, reducing the volume of corrections and follow-up work that had previously consumed a disproportionate share of team time.