摘要：This paper refers to the study undertaken to evaluate the possibility of using lean principle as a continuous improvement tool in the medical set up with particular reference to the three major hospitals in the Federal capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria. Questionnaires were deployed to the antenatal patients and structured interviews were conducted amongst senior management personnel. Findings provided the perception of the quality of services being offered the patients in respect to perceived value as expected under lean thinking. The views of those staff elicited through the personal interview showed that there is a wide gap in knowledge about lean principle in general and more so its application in health. Wastage that lean abhors and seeks to eliminate abounds in surplus in areas of unnecessary movement, waste of time at queues to be attended to. Moreover, findings showed wall of departmentalization within the service points that made the customers not to be the center of attraction rather the interest of each units. To surmount this in order to apply lean as a tool of continuous improvement, rigorous training on the subject of lean is mandatory to all the staff from the highest to the lowest cadre in all of these organizations. This is possible with the zeal demonstrated by those interviewed willing to learn new way of attending to their patients (clients) since they receive complaints daily over long stay in the hospital to access services.
关键词：lean ;philosophy; continuous improvement; quality management; process mapping; health ;sector
