Surgeons working in Manchester can now perform 700 extra operations a year following a successful partnership project between the Central Manchester and Manchester Children’s University Hospital in collaboration with Manchester Business School, University of Manchester.

The research team set out to tackle the problem of the under-utilisation of expensive operating theatre resources. A bespoke management information system has improved the management and performance of operating theatres and increased staff capability. Benefits include a more efficient operations schedule list, enabling an extra 700 operations to be performed each year with potential annual cost savings of over £400,000, and a reduction in cancelled operations.

By designing the software system themselves, the NHS Trust saved approximately £300,000. Findings from this Knowledge Transfer Partnership project have now been passed to other hospitals, benefiting the NHS as a whole.

Project details:

• Full case study (PDF, 1.64Mb)
• Winner of the Best Application of Social and Management Science (PDF, 84.9Kb)