Why theatre utilisation is not enough
High utilisation can hide overtime, cancellations, under-runs, staff pressure and downstream bed-flow consequences.
- By
- Mondrian Health editorial
- Published
Theatre utilisation is one of the most widely reported perioperative metrics, yet on its own it tells a partial story. A list can run at very high utilisation while still generating overtime, cancellations and unplanned bed pressure downstream.
When utilisation is treated as the headline measure, planners can be pushed towards lists that look efficient on paper but are fragile under real-world variability.
What utilisation does and does not show
Utilisation reports how much of allocated theatre time is used. It does not describe how reliably a list is delivered, how often it overruns, how many cases are cancelled, or how much pressure it places on recovery, ward and workforce capacity.
A more complete view considers list reliability, variability of case durations, cancellation patterns and the downstream consequences of late finishes.
A more useful framing
Treat utilisation as one input among several. Pair it with reliability indicators, variability measures and qualitative review of list design so that planning conversations focus on deliverable lists rather than full ones.
Related from Mondrian Health
Apply this thinking to your own theatre, access or estimation work.
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