Assessment 3: Healthcare operations – summative report

Purpose

The purpose of this assessment task is to apply and demonstrate your knowledge of the theories and practical applications of these, required to analyse a particular healthcare operations issue and present your recommended solution in a report format supported by relevant, credible and evidence-based literature.

Instructions

To complete this assessment task, address the issues highlighted in the scenario below.

Background

Nancoota Local Health District (NLHD), situated in regional NSW, is a 350-bed tertiary hospital serving a growing population of 50,000 people across a landmass of 30,000 square kilometres. In addition to acute care, NLHD provides services including comprehensive primary care, acute care, aged care, community, and home-based health services.

To support the functioning of the hospital, there is a facilities management service that provides round-the-clock non-clinical services such as cleaning, ward support, maintenance and engineering services, energy and utility management and food services.

While NLHD has grown in the past many years, adding specialist mental health services, trauma services, and specialty acute services, including nephrology, oncology, cardiology, and telehealth services to its portfolio of tertiary services, the health district has had several ongoing issues.

One of the key issues has been healthcare workforce shortages, like many regional and rural health districts, which have compounded in recent years. The other issues relate to siloed operational management in many departments in the hospital, with them running their scheduling, workforce management and IT systems in isolation from the rest of the hospital and the district health service.

Further patient flow and care models, as utilised in the emergency department and inpatient wards, led to frequent bed blocks and shortages. In addition, there were frequent cancellations of elective surgeries to accommodate immediate or emergency surgeries.

Finally, a culture of top-down management has led to poorly consulted decision-making and inadequate progress with many clinical and non-clinical projects designed to improve patient flow.

The district health board commissions a review panel comprising operational, clinical, HR and policy experts to assess the problems plaguing the district health service and make practical recommendations for the board to consider.

You have been appointed as the Chair of the panel considering your expertise in Business Process Management (BPM) and wide experience in healthcare operations.

At the time of the constitution of the panel, COVID-19 continues to circulate, along with flu in Australia, and has struck NLHD. The issues compound the problems in NLHD that arise immediately due to COVID-19 and the flu.

NLHD has significant challenges in its capacity to handle the surging patient volume, redesigning its care models to cater to a different profile of patients and demand, and organising necessary PPE for all its staff. It becomes inevitable for NLHD to change the way it operates.

The immediacy of the panel to convene and provide relevant recommendations is obvious. As the Chair, while recognising the need to address the immediate problems, you also consider the need to fix chronic and structural issues that have exacerbated the current crisis.

Your Task

You consider six elements to develop recommendations in your deliberations with the panel members. The elements include strategic alignment, governance, BPM methods, IT, people and culture.

Your task is to present a report outlining immediate, short-term term and long-term solutions to address the issues facing NRH while ensuring the local health district services are viable in the long term, and a people-oriented culture is enshrined.

Note

Please refer to the ‘Hospital Operational Management in Emergencies/Crisis’ resources to formulate your strategy and recommendations.