Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Setting Staffing Requirements for Time Dependent Queueing Networks: The Case of Accident and Emergency Departments
AU - Izady, Navid
AU - Worthington, David
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - An incentive scheme aimed at reducing patients' waiting times in accident and emergency departments was introduced by the UK government in 2000. It requires 98 percent of patients to be discharged, transferred, or admitted to inpatient care within 4 hours of arrival. Setting the minimal hour by hour medical staffing levels for achieving the government target, in the presence of complexities like time-varying demand, multiple types of patients, and resource sharing, is the subject of this paper. Building on extensive body of research on time dependent queues, we propose an iterative scheme which uses infinite server networks, the square root staffing law, and simulation to come up with a good solution. The implementation of this algorithm in a typical A&E department suggests that significant improvement on the target can be gained, even without increase in total staff hours.
AB - An incentive scheme aimed at reducing patients' waiting times in accident and emergency departments was introduced by the UK government in 2000. It requires 98 percent of patients to be discharged, transferred, or admitted to inpatient care within 4 hours of arrival. Setting the minimal hour by hour medical staffing levels for achieving the government target, in the presence of complexities like time-varying demand, multiple types of patients, and resource sharing, is the subject of this paper. Building on extensive body of research on time dependent queues, we propose an iterative scheme which uses infinite server networks, the square root staffing law, and simulation to come up with a good solution. The implementation of this algorithm in a typical A&E department suggests that significant improvement on the target can be gained, even without increase in total staff hours.
KW - Time-dependent queues
KW - Staffing emergency departments
U2 - 10.1016/j.ejor.2011.10.040
DO - 10.1016/j.ejor.2011.10.040
M3 - Journal article
VL - 219
SP - 531
EP - 540
JO - European Journal of Operational Research
JF - European Journal of Operational Research
SN - 0377-2217
IS - 3
ER -