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Capacity management in acute hospitals has been a poorly understood area for many years. HCAF have been researching the statistical signatures behind variation in demand for over 15 years and have used the outcomes of this research to provide simple capacity management tools to enable guaranteed waiting time targets to be achieved and maintained.
The capacity management tool gives upper and lower control limits for both activity and numbers of patients waiting to be seen. This prevents managers from over-reacting to statistically insignificant changes but allows them to react appropriately when active intervention is required.
Since almost all conditions respond to the surrounding environment the correct allocation of outpatient and inpatient resources also needs to reflect this seasonal variation and it is at this point that the operational implications of the statistical signatures behind demand become exceedingly important to understand.
Capacity Management Series
BJHCM = British Journal of Healthcare Management
HSJ = Health Service Journal
Jones R 1996 Estimation of annual activity and the use of activity multipliers. Health Informatics 2, 71-77
Beauchant S & Jones R 1997 Socio-economic and demographic factors in patient non-attendance. BJHCM 3(10), 523-528
Jones R 2000 GP referral-Feeling a bit peaky. HSJ 110(5732), 28-31 Read
Jones R 2001 Waiting time-A pretty little sum. HSJ 111(5740), 28-31 Read
Jones R 2001 Waiting times-Quick, quick, slow. HSJ 111(5778), 20-4 Read
Jones R 2009 What next for eighteen weeks? BJHCM 15(8), 404-5 Read Me
Jones R 2009 How to maintain eighteen weeks BJHCM 15(9), 456-7 Read
Jones R 2009 Building smaller hospitals. BJHCM 15(10), 511-12 Read Me
Jones R 2009 Crafting efficient bed pools. BJHCM 15(12), 614-16 Read Me
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Capacity Management