Improving operational effectiveness
This hospital within the NHS network was under pressure to reduce waiting lists and improve the speed at which patients could receive quality treatment to free up bed space. As part of an external consulting team, our advisory council member was asked to analyse the situation and design a work programme to resolve these issues. The programme focussed on theatre utilisation and reducing “lost bed days”. The program of work helped the medical staff introduce planning and management tools that increased theatre utilisation and reduced lost bed days by over 10%, ultimately having a significant effect on patient waiting lists.
As well as introducing new tools to help manage consultant discharge efficiency (“lost bed days”) and the whole admission and procedure process in theatre to maximise the use of this very expensive asset, the program of work focussed on the cultural and teamwork aspects that ensured the changes that were made were sustainable on an ongoing basis due to the buy in and ownership of all the different team members.
