Integral planning of operating rooms and wards : Tactical allocation of beds to reduce fluctuations in bed utilization for Medisch Spectrum Twente

This research focuses on the tactical capacity planning in operating rooms (OR) and wards. It aims to improve the alignment between elective patient flows of different specialties and to reduce fluctuations in bed utilization. We select the most appropriate method that fits the requirement of MST based on the context analysis and the literature research. Thereafter, we do experiments to analyze the improvement potential of this intervention. We expand this intervention with a simulation study to vary experimental settings and to analyze the influence of changes in parameter settings. Finally, we give guidelines for patient scheduling and advise MST about the implementation of the intervention. Intervention: The main goal of the intervention is to reduce variability in bed utilization. Results show a reduction of fluctuations in ward utilization and a reduction in maximum bed requirements of 29.4% compared to 2014. Simulation model: The variation in bed utilization increases when comparing the simulation model to the intervention, whereas it decreases in comparison to the realized situation in 2014. However, the maximum bed requirement decreases with 14.1% compared to quarter one of 2014.