This thesis examines the application of operations management (OM) theory to the management of NHS hospital inpatient bed resources (also known as bed management). The study was initiated by management's desire for improvement in bed management at North Management General Hospital (NMGH), a medium-sized acute hospital which is now part of the Pennine Acute Hospitals NBS Trust (the Trust) in the North West of England. The study made use of published research into the practical application of OM theory in various organisations - particularly the still small number of published studies conducted in the health sector - in order to analyse data collected relating to bed management at NMGH over two periods: April 2002 through to April 2004, and also for the month of May 2005. For the data collection, the study deployed various qualitative and quantitative techniques including, process mapping, interviews, observation and statistical analysis. The purpose of the second, shorter, field-study in May 2005 was to measure the outcomes arising from recommendations made to the Trust following the analysis of data collected between April 2002 and April 2004. This allowed for the re-appraisal of the original recommendations to be incorporated into the results and conclusions of this study. This thesis argues that the benefits of applying OM theory in an English NHS hospital are demonstrated by measurable improvements in the management of throughput and queues when OM theory is used in designing layouts and in augmenting capacity coping systems. However, currently, certain cultural and political conditions within the NHS effectively constrain the usefulness of OM approaches. The thesis argues that cultural and political contingencies in OM theory require further consideration if the benefits of OM theory are to be fully exploited in the English NHS hospital environment. 9
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:630442 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Conyon, Ivan |
| Publisher | University of Manchester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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