An Application of a MCDA Model for Healthcare Site Selection

The aim of this paper is to report on the development of a Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) Model that was implemented to optimize the location selection for a new healthcare centre. The paper demonstrates how MCDA was used within healthcare to enhance the robustness and transparency of the decision making process. Literature on MCDA was reviewed to contribute to the model development. It was developed in collaboration with a local Trust as part of a new health centre (£15 million project). A substantial set of data gathered from the public consultation and four specific workshops, allowed to assess the two alternatives using the Evidential Reasoning (ER) approach. The final model has seven criteria and 28 sub-criteria. This technique was useful to reach a consensus and influenced the Board of Directors to justify the final decision thanks to the robustness and transparency of the process. The paper makes a contribution by implementing a MCDA model in the healthcare sector and by providing a model for future application.