So, they pared the process right back.

In Ballarat Health Services Base Hospital you might notice the large colour-coded stickers for names and roles when treating the most critical cases.

It was a seemingly simple start but one Mr Geyle said was vital to cleaning up how staff work and interact which, in turn, made for smoother patient care.

The project follows training in the hospital's RE-TRed program - Resource Efficiency Training using Redesign - offering staff a chance to develop skills and confidence to improve efficiency in their work with the resources they have.

Mr Geyle there were hospital procedures and guidelines that could be clearer with so many involved in helping amid emergencies.

This project focused on three elements: roles, clearly defined and allocated on a prominent board; communication, particularly using each others' names to prevent double-ups or miscommunications; and crowd control, red lines near resuscitation areas so only staff who need to be there are.

"We've taken a slow approach so change can hopefully stay," Mr Geyle said. "Resuscitation is running a lot more consistently, and this has particularly been noted when our specialty units, like cardio, have to come in."

Fellow emergency department nurse Hannah Ryan-West also jumped in to work with Ballarat's Rotary Young Ambition, of which she is a member, for funding for two portable and adjustable tables.

This allows the designated scribe for each case a chance to better position themselves for coordinating team efforts. Scribes had previously worked from fixed tables in the corner of resuscitation spaces, making it harder to follow the calls unfolding.

Ms Ryan-West has also been involved in environmental changes, including the collection of more than 10,000 bottle caps to be remade into prosthetic limbs.

BHS chief medical officer Rosemary Aldrich said the basis for RE-TRed could be adapted to many workplaces by taking a closer look at waste, including time wastes.

Associate Professor Aldrich likened it to the lean production principles in car manufacturing, only with greater employee ownership.

"It's capitalising on impulse thinking like, 'this is a waste of time' or 'if only'," she said. "We don't have great amounts of money for change but can think creatively."

BHS runs the RE-TRed program at least twice a year for an intake of 20 staff across departments and roles.

Associate Professor Aldrich said those who had undergone the program became champions for changes across the health service.

"Small gains add up," Associate Professor Aldrich said. "All of us have an ambition to serve the community, finding more timely ways means more time focusing on patients."

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