An NHS Improvement report found that with improved scheduling hospitals could perform an additional 300,000 surgeries annually.
NHS commissioned Deloitte to analyze operating room productivity in England as part of an ongoing program to help hospitals reduce waiting times for their patients.
With data submitted by 92 hospitals, NHS found significant variation in OR productivity between the various hospitals on specialties. A third of the surgeries started 30 minutes or later and 38 percent finished 30 minutes or earlier.
By fixing schedules, hospitals could add up to 291,327 operations, a 16.8 percent increase. By specialty, hospitals could add:
• 30,000 more ear, nose and throat surgeries
• 42,000 more general surgery procedures
• 32,000 more gynecology surgeries
• 41,000 more ophthalmology surgeries
• 27,000 more oral and maxillofacial surgeries
• 19,000 more plastic surgeries
• 57,000 orthopedic surgeries
• 44,000 urology surgeries