Simulation Models for Optimal Schedules of Operating Theatres

In this work discrete event simulation models developed in Witness are discussed and used to evaluate performance indices of interest related to the scheduling of operating theatre activities for surgical departments; in particular the attention is focused on the wards’ productivity in terms of utilization rate, throughput and overruns. The first model reproduces the behaviour of the operating theatre and tunes the parameters. Subsequently, alternative operative scenarios are proposed by comparing the actual time table and schedule with that obtained by using a blocked booking criterion for the weekly scheduling of the surgery rooms. The sequencings of the surgical activities are analysed according to different priority rules, derived from the classical scheduling theory. In the analysis the possibility of introducing the so-called “pre” and “post” recovery room is considered with respect to the activity level of the department. The computational results presented in the paper are related to a one-year simulation horizon for the surgical department of a hospital located in Genoa, Italy.