The aim of this paper is to consider the mental and physical wellbeing of employees through a lean-inspired People Value Stream lens. Poor well-being is a major cause of reduced productivity for organisations and a drain on healthcare services. We develop a conceptual approach as to how the interrelated spheres of mental and physical health might be dramatically improved through the lean, proactive intervention of employees. This requires the creation of a self-reliant wellness approach by focusing on an individual's meaning and goals and their consequent overall wellness and motivation. This involves assessing their mental and physical ‘flow’ during their career and how individuals can take control of their own wellbeing with the support of their team and wider organisation. Attention to this flow will help employees achieve what they want more quickly and effectively, with consequent benefits to their team and the organisation. We show how this can be achieved from a conceptual point of view and with a practical example. This is the first flow to be considered in detail within the People Value Stream approach. This provides a framework to completely rethink mental and physical wellbeing from the viewpoint of the individual rather than the organisation.

Definitive diagnosis of Craniosynostosis (CS) with computed tomography (CT) is readily available, however, exposure to ionizing radiation is often a hard stop for parents and practitioners. Lowering head CT radiation exposure helps mitigate risks and improves diagnostic utilization. The purpose of the study is to quantify radiation exposure from head CT in patients with CS using a ‘new’ (ultra-low dose) protocol; compare prior standard CT protocol; summarize published reports on cumulative radiation doses from pediatric head CT scans utilizing other low-dose protocols. A retrospective study was conducted on patients undergoing surgical correction of CS, aged less than 2 years, between August 2014 and February 2022. Cumulative effective dose (CED) in mSv was calculated, descriptive statistics were performed, and mean ± SD was reported. A literature search was conducted describing cumulative radiation exposure from head CT in pediatric patients and analyzed for ionizing radiation measurements. Forty-four patients met inclusion criteria: 17 females and 27 males. Patients who obtained head CT using the ‘New’ protocol resulted in lower CED exposure of 0.32 mSv ± 0.07 compared to the prior standard protocol at 5.25 mSv ± 2.79 (p < 0.0001). Five studies specifically investigated the reduction of ionizing radiation from CT scans in patients with CS via the utilization of low-dose CT protocols. These studies displayed overall CED values ranging from 0.015 mSv to 0.77 mSv. Our new CT protocol resulted in 94% reduction of ionizing radiation. Ultra-low dose CT protocols provide similar diagnostic data without loss of bone differentiation in CS and can be easily incorporated into the workflow of a children’s hospital.