Optimization of Resources to Improve Patient Experience in the New Emergency Department of Mater Hospital Dublin

Abstract

Healthcare systems globally are facing capacity issues due to the increased demand of health services, the high cost of resources and the level of quality anticipated of service providers. Emergency Departments (ED) are the most pressurized unit in healthcare systems due to uncertainty in demand and limited resources allocated. Mater Hospital (one of leading hospitals) in Dublin has built a new (state-of-the-art) unit for ED yet faced an issue in resourcing the unit to optimize performance. This paper presents an integrated solution to optimize the capacity of the new ED before opening to public and examine improvement interventions in the ED area. This solution provides ED management with a tool that can contribute significantly in enhancing patient experience by reducing the waiting time from 21 hours to 6 hours while achieving utilization below the 80% burn-out threshold. The model is recommended by Health Service Executives to be used national wide