Action plan rolled out as theatre performance falls below target across Northern Trust

An action plan is set to be implemented by the Northern Health and Social Care Trust at Whiteabbey Hospital by the end of next month in a bid to improve theatre efficiency.

Trust board members were presented with a report on theatre performance at the end of February, which showed that performance in the Trust’s “peripheral” hospitals — Whiteabbey and Mid Ulster — is below target in terms of both operating and run times.

Operating times refer to the time spent on each patient’s procedure, while run times measure the total duration an operating theatre is in use each day.

At Causeway Hospital in Coleraine, operating times also fell short of targets. In the main theatres, the utilisation target is 85 per cent, with 82 per cent achieved. For day procedures, performance was significantly lower, with 59 per cent achieved against a target of 80 per cent.

At Whiteabbey Hospital, 63 per cent was achieved against a target of 80 per cent, while Mid Ulster Hospital in Magherafelt recorded 54 per cent against the same 80 per cent target.

However, targets were met at Antrim Hospital for both main theatres and day procedures, while run-time performance targets were also achieved at Causeway Hospital’s main theatres.

Commenting on the figures, Lynne McCartney, interim director for surgery and clinical services, said:

“We perform very well on the main theatre sites. The issue lies in day procedure and peripheral sites.”

She described this as “an ongoing challenge” and highlighted the need to better identify patients suitable for procedures at peripheral sites, including those who could be ready at short notice to fill cancellations and avoid “wasting capacity”.

She added that a review of theatre scheduling will examine which procedures could be moved to peripheral sites, ensuring “appropriate procedures in the correct theatres”.

The Trust has acknowledged a number of challenges, including identifying suitable patients from long waiting lists — particularly those who could attend at short notice — as well as ongoing scheduling issues at Whiteabbey Hospital.

Areas for improvement have now been identified, with an action plan developed to enable greater collaboration between departments, including gynaecology, breast and general surgery, to optimise scheduling.

The Trust will also pilot a new “patient scheduler” role, tasked with reviewing long-waiting patients across all sites to identify those suitable for treatment at peripheral hospitals.

Trust board chair Anne O’Reilly said:

“We are continuing to seek to improve.”