Introduction
Wentworth Area Health services (WAHS) was one of two Area Health Services assigned to me to:
pilot New South Wales Health’s first Area-wide Hospital Service Asset Strategic Plans;
develop model processes, methodologies and tools, for Asset Strategic Planning.
WAHS was responsible for delivering hospital and related health services to the localities of Hawkesbury, Penrith and Blue Mountains. These populations are served by three public hospitals under WAHS management and also, several other public and private sector hospitals managed by other Sydney Area Health Services.
WAHS executives requested:
a database of service-facility resources and performance for the Area’s capital acquisition and maintenance program and
a tool for clinical services delivery planning which would enable them to identify the beds required by program, for any clinical service delivery option.
Products
The products of the consultancy included the following:
BedPlan (WAHS). A planning tool. The model included presentation of two options for service delivery.
Service-facilities Database and Performance Report (WAHS). A planning and management tool.
A report on Service-facilities Performance.
This page indicates outputs of these products.
Outcomes
BedPlan (WAHS) enabled management to develop and test options for the provision of clinical services to it’s populations.
The Service-facilities Performance Report found significant over capitalization and its concomitant under-utilisation and waste; an unpopular finding which had implications for capital acquisition; however the evidence was unassailable.
Linkage of BedPlan with the Service-facilities Database and Performance Report enables management to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of service delivery options.
NSW Health Department has since dumped its bed:population ratio method of planning and now uses models similar to BedPlan.