The Assignment Task
Bed turnaround at Lynfield mount is of critical importance as bed availability might be the difference between life and death for patients. The time from when a patient is discharged to the time when a new patient is assigned to the bed is referred to as the bed assignment turnaround time. If the bed turnaround time is excessive, it can cause problems with patient flow and delayed medical procedures throughout the hospital. This can cause long waiting times for physicians and patients thus creating customer dissatisfaction. The admissions RN has asked a patient care associate to gather data on patient turnaround times and the reasons why there is excessive variability in turnaround times. The following were reasons given for delays in the turnaround times:
Shortage of clean bedding- 9 incidents
Cleaning staff unavailability- 3 incidents
Registered Nurse unavailability- 36 incidents
Patient associates (family)- 2 incidents
Lack of wheelchairs for leaving patient- 8 incidents
Lack of communication- 15 incidents
Day of the week- 10 incidents
Time of the day- 7 incidents
Patient not ready to leave hospital- 13 incidents
Patient unwillingness to be discharged- 4 incidents
Lost patient property- 7 incidents
Below is a table showing 25 sample times gathered by the patient care associate.
Day Time 1 Time 2 Time 3
1 127 135 167
2 140 155 122
3 112 128 97
4 223 135 154
5 181 155 160
6 103 158 145
7 146 135 167
8 104 122 115
9 136 158 137
10 145 163 106
11 84 146 125
12 169 152 208
13 216 124 163
14 190 178 103
15 148 205 144
16 157 151 126
17 142 102 95
18 166 178 159
19 177 211 204
20 98 91 158
21 133 160 152
22 212 131 138
23 180 165 134
24 88 126 108
25 95 156 138
Assessment Breakdown
Determine whether the hospital is capable of consistently achieving bed turnaround times of 120 minutes +/- 15 minutes without improving the process. Develop an X-chart to be used in conjunction with an R-chart using Z =3 limits to monitor the bed turnaround times and indicate if the process is in control using these charts. (40%)
Using other quality tools, determine what needs to be improved in order to eliminate some of the causes of long turnaround times. (60%)
Learning Outcomes
The learning outcomes that are being assessed in this assignment are:
a) Develop a critical understanding of the characteristics of operations systems and the various approaches that may be adopted in their design.
b) Select and implement appropriate strategies and methods for the quality control and improvement of operations.
c) Apply suitable tools and techniques for control of operations
d) Synthesise and solve complex problems using appropriate techniques.
Your grade will depend on the extent to which you meet these learning outcomes in the way relevant for this assignment. Please see the grading rubric at the end of this assignment brief for further details of the criteria against which you will be assessed.
Word Limit
The maximum word limit for this assignment is 2,400 words
