Bed Occupancy Rate and Throughput of Patients in Cardiac Surgery Departments Using Simulation Models

Background – In the interest of efficiently using limited resources, it is important to optimize the throughput of cardiac surgery patients. Accordingly, the present study was performed to estimate the bed occupancy rate and throughput of patients in cardiac surgery departments using simulation models. Methods – In this paper, the typical Heart Surgery Department of Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne, England was considered, where there were some beds in the ward, theater, and intensive care unit (ICU). For a set of data, a computer program for Monte-Carlo simulation of the department using Fortran-77 software (Fortran Company, USA) was developed in order to observe the behavior of the department as a queuing system. Different number of beds in the ward and ICU were simulated in order to observe the bed occupancy rate in the ward and ICU and also the throughput of patients in the system. Results – Bed occupancy rates in the ward and ICU for the case of 2 beds in the ICU and 11 in the ward were 78% and 81%, respectively. In this case, the throughput of 500 patients in the system could take 513 days. For 3 beds in ICU and 16 in the ward the mean bed occupancy rate was 84% in the ward and 79% in ICU. The throughput of 500 patients in the system with 9 beds in ICU and 39 in the ward could take 130 days. Conclusion – To prevent disinvestment prior to building a hospital or a new ward, especially in developing countries, it is suggested to perform simulation studies to observe the behavior of system in advance.