Maximising Utilisation of the Estate and Staff

Maximising Utilisation of the Estate and Staff

This is a methodical review of all plans either for new schemes or of the existing estate.
we start with macro whole hospital plans in terms of access and egress of movement and departmental relationships.
the next steps are to consider the intra and inter-departmental layouts, the functional relationships of spaces within and between departments, the functionality of spaces to assess whether the plans meet the brief.
the outcome is a recommendations for ways to improve layouts – floor by floor, department by department.

It is essential to ensure that clinical and non-clinical space is used to full capacity with no rooms left unoccupied for long periods of time.

Utilisation of staff time

A methodical approach to maximising staff activities

  • Activity Analysis
    By breaking down tasks into groups, e.g., direct care, administration, education, the percentage time of each group can be calculated to assess how time is used. This will clearly show how improvements can be made to increase time spent on say direct patient care and reduce time spent on administration.
  • Process Flows
    Process flow is another approach to problem solving.

    •     By preparing a step by step account of procedures, e.g., taking a chest X-ray, processing a blood test, an aggregation of time spent – by whom, how long it takes, where it is done – can be calculated.
    •     A picture can be built up of how departments and staff function, how best to utilise staff time, the procedures that can be built in to improve the quality of care and allow staff greater job satisfaction.

Assessment of the efficacy of decant strategies where applicable

In this current climate time and space are of supreme importance: all facilities and staff must be used to full capacity.

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