# Improving Theatre Productivity by Digitising Surgical Equipment Repairs

## TL;DR

Digitizing surgical equipment repair processes at a UK hospital reduced delays and saved time and money, improving theatre productivity and reducing surgery cancellations.

## Contribution

A novel digital approach to surgical equipment repair pathways, demonstrating tangible efficiency gains and reduced cancellations.

## Key findings

- Digitizing ad-hoc repairs saved 74 minutes per repair and £21,721.48 annually.
- Digitizing MES repairs reduced steps by 13 and saved £3,469.44 annually.
- Elective surgery cancellations due to equipment issues dropped by 44%.

## Abstract

Introduction

A few cancelled surgeries are due to surgical equipment issues representing a significant burden to both patients and National Health Service (NHS) hospitals on waiting lists. Despite this, there remain very few strategies designed to tackle these avoidable cancellations, especially in combination with digitisation. Our aim was to demonstrate improved efficiency through a pilot study in collaboration with Broomfield Hospital (Broomfield, United Kingdom), MediShout Ltd (London, United Kingdom), and B. Braun Medical Ltd (Sheffield, United Kingdom) with the digitalisation of the equipment repair pathway.

Methods

MediShout digitised two distinct repair pathways: ad-hoc repairs and maintenance equipment services (MES). Pre- and post-digitisation outcome measures were collected including the number of process steps, staff contribution time, non-staff continuation time, turnaround time, cancelled surgeries, planned preventative maintenance compliance, and staff satisfaction. The number of steps, staff contribution time, and non-staff contribution time were calculated using cognitive task analyses and time-motion studies, respectively. Turnaround time and cancellation data were taken from existing hospital data sets and staff satisfaction was measured through two staff surveys.

Results

Digitising the ad-hoc repair pathway reduced the number of steps by 18 (118 to 100) and saved 74 minutes of total staff time (Broomfield Hospital and B. Braun) per repair, resulting in annual efficiency savings of £21,721.48. Digitising the MES repair pathway reduced the number of steps by 13 (74 to 61) and saved 56 minutes of total staff time per repair, resulting in annual efficiency savings of £3469.44. Turnaround time for the repaired kit decreased by 14 days and 29 days for the digital ad-hoc and digital MES pathways, respectively. Elective operations cancelled due to equipment issues decreased by 44%, from 1.5 operations/month pre-pilot to 0.83 operations/month post-pilot. Planned preventative maintenance compliance across the MES pathway increased by 67% (33% to 100%). Staff satisfaction with the repair pathway improved from 12% to 96%.

Conclusion

This pilot study showcases the numerous benefits that can be achieved through digitisation and offers an innovative case study to approach avoidable cancellations due to equipment failure.