Starting time delay in operating theatre at University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (UTHK)

Abstract

Background Operating theatre starting time as one of the aspects of theatre efficiency has been a concern at university teaching hospital of Kigali. Only 3% of first surgeries used to start punctually while all 97% were late. The objective of this study was to increase the percentage of first surgeries starting on time from 3% to 25% in six months period from September 2016 to March 2017 Methods A pre and post intervention study design was used. A baseline assessment, details root causes analysis that identified Anesthetists and surgeons tardiness to be the main cause to start late was done then a clear policy on staff arrival time was developed and implemented. Finally an evaluation was conduct to assess the results of the intervention Results A significant improvement was observed, the percentage of on time start increased from 3 to 27% (P<001), the average duration of delay per surgery decreased significantly from 86 minutes to 31 minutes (P <001). Conclusion By applying the strategic problem solving model more hospital quality assurance challenges could be solved without additional cost.