[Productivity in a Norwegian department of surgery]

There are few good methods of evaluating efficiency in the operating theatres. Data from four operating theatres (gynaecology, gastroenterology, thoracic/vascular-surgery and orthopaedics) during regular working hours (0730-1530) were evaluated for a period of 37 weeks in 1993. A record was made of duration of surgery and the time that elapsed from when the nurses received the patient until he or she was delivered to the postoperative ward. We also registered the time elapsing from the end of one operation to the start of the next. On average 2.2 (thoracic/vascular) to 3.2 (gynaecology) patients were operated on each day. The surgeons spent about 40% of their normal working hours actually operating. Preparations before start of anaesthesia took about 30 minutes, and before surgery 30-40 minutes. Another 30 minutes elapsed from the end of the operation until the patient was delivered to the postoperative ward. We conclude that there may still be a potential for increasing productivity in these operating theatres.