Improving Theatre Efficiency in Hand Surgery Lists

Abstract

The department of health's 2010 spending review dictated that the NHS should deliver efficiency savings of £15–£20 billion between 2011 and 2014. The resulting cuts in hospital budgets have led to renewed efforts to improve efficiency and maximise the use of resources in the public health sector. Operating theatres are a very expensive commodity and evidence suggests that, on average, only 50% of time spent in theatre is actually spent operating. Approximately 20% of the time is spent on patient turnover, with other time being lost to a number of factors including late starts, early finishes, poor list-planning, cancelled sessions or cancellations due to a lack of beds.