CareCube, GIRFT, NHS and the return to elective surgery.

Data highlighted in the report on theatre productivity last year showed that over 291,000 extra surgical procedures could have been performed in the 92 participating hospitals in a 12-month period. Procedures starting over 30 minutes late happened 33% of the time; finishing 30 minutes early occurred in 38% of lists.

Many centres are aware of this problem; the solution lies in being able to measure it, focus on the problem flow areas, and track improvement, using a real-time system that connects all users. 

CareCube provides such a solution - a recent case study from Liverpool Heart and Chest demonstrated the ability to improve session utilisation from 80% to 98%; reduced start time delays from 15 minutes to 2 minutes; eliminated end of day lost time, and improved turn-round time between cases from 20 minutes to 9 minutes. Same centre, same team, just supported by a realtime system that supports the whole team involved in the pathway. Over a year, that equates to procedures worth over £6 million of revenue being completed.