The Development of Surgical Service in Pakthongchai Hospital by Using the Theory of Constraints

Abstract

The Department of Surgery in Pakthongchai Hospital, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, there are providesservices to numerous amount of patients. However, there is only one surgeon. The shortage of surgeon hascaused prolonged waiting time for the patients resulting in dissatisfaction in the service of the department. Thesurgeon has attempted to develop the service with a better quality by using the theory of constraints to helpanalyze the problems and make improvements to the system. Objective: The study to development the quality ofthe surgical services in Pakthongchai Hospital. Patients and Method: This is quasi-experimental study aimed tocompare waiting time and patient satisfaction score, which are collected from both operating room and outpatientand inpatient department patients, who came with common surgical complaints, before and after the systemchange implementation. The sample in this study included 101 outpatient patients; 54 of which experienced theold system; 47 of which experienced the changed system. 556 patients were included for inpatient group; 267 ofwhich experienced the old system and 299 of which experienced the changed system. The patient interviews andwaiting time record were used to collect data. Results: The study found that the system change can reducewaiting time at the operating room by 25.80 minutes. The satisfaction score increases; operating room scores4.65 and inpatients scores 4.14. Conclusion: The use of the theory of constraints can improve both operatingroom and inpatient service systems of Department of Surgery of Pakthongchai Hospital.