Adams, Thomas

A Simulation Model of Auckland City Hospital’s Emergency Department

Thomas Adams, Michael O’Sullivan, and Cameron Walker

Department of Engineering Science, University of Auckland

The Ministry of Health agrees on several health targets with the district health boards in New Zealand. One of the targets is for 95% of patients to be admitted to hospital, discharged, or transferred from an Emergency Department within 6 hours. The management of the Emergency Department at Auckland City Hospital are considering restructuring the staff in an effort to reduce waiting times and ensure this target is met. In particular they are contemplating moving to a zone or `pod’ model with staff dedicated to each part of the Emergency Department. Additionally in the near future more staff will be available to work in the Emergency Department. This presentation presents a simulation model designed to assist the management in deciding whether and how to restructure their staff, and the effect of trialling several staffing configurations within the simulation on patient’s waiting times and length of stay.

This presentation is eligible for the ORSNZ Young Practitioners Prize.