A healthcare space planning simulation model for Accident and Emergency (A&E)
type: CreativeWork
description: The National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom provides a range service for its population including primary care and hospital services. The impact of the 2008 economic and financial crises prompted a tightening of public budgets including health. Over the next few years, and most likely beyond, the NHS is planning for unprecedented levels of efficiency saving in the order of £ billions. With little doubt, the NHS will need to review its way of working will need to do more with less. Simulation is an established technique with applications in many industries including healthcare. Potentially, there are huge opportunities for simulation use to make further inroads in the field of healthcare. Despite the potential, arguably, simulation has failed to make a significant impact in health. Some evidence has tended to suggest that within health there has been poor adaption along with poor linkage to real-world problems, as perceived by healthcare stakeholders. The aim of this thesis is to develop a model to help address real-world healthcare issues as recognised by healthcare stakeholders. In doing so, this thesis will focus on a couple of real-world problems, namely:  What space is needed to meet service demand, when is it needed and what will it cost?  What space do we have, how can it be used to meet service demand and at what cost? The developed simulation space demand model will demonstrate its value modelling dynamic systems over static models. The developed models will also show its value highlighting space demand issues by groups of patients, by time of day. Real, readily available data (arrival and length of stay, by patient group) would drive the model inputs, supporting ease of use and clarity for healthcare stakeholders. The model was modular by design to support rapid reconfiguration. Dynamically modelled space information allows service managers and Healthcare Planners to better manage and organise their space in a flexible way to meet service requ…
abstract: The National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom provides a range service for its population including primary care and hospital services. The impact of the 2008 economic and financial crises prompted a tightening of public budgets including health. Over the next few years, and most likely beyond, the NHS is planning for unprecedented levels of efficiency saving in the order of £ billions. With little doubt, the NHS will need to review its way of working will need to do more with less. Simulation is an established technique with applications in many industries including healthcare. Potentially, there are huge opportunities for simulation use to make further inroads in the field of healthcare. Despite the potential, arguably, simulation has failed to make a significant impact in health. Some evidence has tended to suggest that within health there has been poor adaption along with poor linkage to real-world problems, as perceived by healthcare stakeholders. The aim of this thesis is to develop a model to help address real-world healthcare issues as recognised by healthcare stakeholders. In doing so, this thesis will focus on a couple of real-world problems, namely:  What space is needed to meet service demand, when is it needed and what will it cost?  What space do we have, how can it be used to meet service demand and at what cost? The developed simulation space demand model will demonstrate its value modelling dynamic systems over static models. The developed models will also show its value highlighting space demand issues by groups of patients, by time of day. Real, readily available data (arrival and length of stay, by patient group) would drive the model inputs, supporting ease of use and clarity for healthcare stakeholders. The model was modular by design to support rapid reconfiguration. Dynamically modelled space information allows service managers and Healthcare Planners to better manage and organise their space in a flexible way to meet service requ…
author: Virtue, A.
date published: 2013
date modified: 2026-07-24T06:02:18Z
provider: University of Westminster
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Westminster

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.34737/8z1y4