Edmundston Regional Hospital surgical suite sees remarkable performance improvement
Vitalité Health Network, September 6, 2023 – Edmundston Regional Hospital’s surgical services have achieved significant results since the implementation of an optimization project in the surgical suite. Both the wait time and cancellation rate for surgeries dropped, which will increase the number of surgeries performed each year.
This project, implemented in March 2023, was designed to maximize the efficiency and use of resources in the surgical suite. Following a close examination of the work schedules and how things functioned, the processes were revised to optimize the planning of appointments and work schedules, the use of the rooms, the start of surgeries and the management of urgent cases.
The restructuring made it possible to open a third operating room for most of the year. Certain procedures that were being done in the surgical suite will now be done in the ambulatory care clinics.
According to projections, these improvements will mean that nearly 900 additional surgeries can be performed per year without adding human resources, which will result in faster patient management.
The wait list was able to be reduced by 25% and there are no longer any people who have been waiting for surgery for over 12 months. The number of cancellations was reduced by half and the number of urgent cases was also reduced.
Mario St-Pierre, co-leader of the project, underscored the valuable collaboration of the surgical suite teams, including the nursing and support staff, physicians, and staff in the medical device reprocessing unit, who got involved in this continuous improvement initiative. “We achieved a great feat thanks to the work done by the medical and nursing staff to identify problems and implement suitable solutions. The results attained show the positive effect of these efforts,” he was pleased to say.
The good organizational practices and the innovative solutions adopted in Edmundston will be shared with the Network’s other facilities.
To continue moving forward, it will be essential to fill the respiratory therapist positions in the operating room and to effectively manage the activities of daily living, which will help optimize the length of hospital stays.
“We are keeping our resolve to continue our efforts to guarantee optimal functioning of our surgical services,” said Dr. Paul Cloutier, co-leader of the project.
Vitalité Health Network would like to thank all the medical, nursing and support staff at Edmundston Regional Hospital for their dedication and invovlement in this successful improvement project, which has already had a major impact on the care provided to the people of the Northwest.
