The provision of a trauma bed in theatre recovery and its impact on trauma theatre efficiency: experience from a high-volume trauma unit.

Introduction: Inefficiencies in the trauma setting are well known and have been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic among other factors, resulting in national guidance to aid improvements in resource utilisation. This study introduced a novel surgeon-led intervention, a trauma bed in recovery, with the aim of improving trauma theatre efficiency.

Methods: This quality improvement project was conducted using a Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) methodology and comprised multiple cycles to assess theatre performance. A multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach with relevant stakeholder input enabled intervention implementation, aimed at facilitating 'golden patient' arrival in the anaesthetic room as early as possible. The primary outcome was the time at which the first patient entered the anaesthetic room, and the secondary outcome was the number of cases performed each day.

Results: The study period was 1 year and encompassed three PDSA cycles. The intervention achieved its primary outcome by PDSA cycle 1 and its secondary outcome by PDSA cycle 2, demonstrating statistically significantly improved results (p < 0.001). A subanalysis assessed the specific impact of the intervention, and demonstrated a significant improvement in both outcomes when the intervention was used as intended (p < 0.0005).

Conclusions: A ringfenced trauma bed significantly improved theatre start times and thereby theatre efficiency. This is a simple, pragmatic intervention that benefitted the MDT trauma team while also demonstrating a sustained impact. Given that National Health Service efficiency is at the forefront of national healthcare discourse, we recommend that this intervention is implemented in other trauma units to help provide a solution to this longstanding issue.