Shouldice Hospital

1. Problem statement

With the increasing demand on Shouldice Hospital, the hospital management is looking to increase the capacity of the hospital to meet the demand without sacrificing the quality of service the hospital offers and has built up over 30 years.

2. Situation analysis

Shouldice hospital is a well-known hospital for its specialization in hernia operations. Last year, Shouldice performed operations on 7500 patients.

The greatly developed technique that the hospital uses and the excellent customer service that all staff members and doctors work hard to provide give the hospital a great reputation. Thisincreases demand on the hospital as its exceptional reputation increases patients’ desire to have their hernia operations performed at Shouldice hospital.

As per the customer service, the patient should arrive one day before the operation and stay one day after for a total of 3 days. The first day gives the patient the opportunity to understand his or her situation by meeting with other patients and sharing their personal experiences. Inaddition, the patient pairs with another who has similar interests and hopes. As a result, the patient forgets their fear and enjoys their time. The journey does not end by leaving the hospital; Shouldice has a yearly event where all patients are invited to mingle, socialize, and see the doctors and staff.

Currently the hospital has 90 beds, 12 full time surgeons, 7 part-time assistances, 5 operating rooms, a patient recovery room, a laboratory, and six examining rooms. The hospital does 150 operations per week, 5 days a week. With each operation, the patient stays a total of 3 days in the hospital.Using the information that we have, the hospital utilization of its beds is:

Beds available: 90 beds X 7 days= 630 per week

Actual utilization Monday to Sunday = 60+90+90+ 90+60+30+30= 450 per week

Efficiency = 450/630= 71.42%.

According to the efficiency ratio, the hospital is utilizing 71.42%. This ratio is...