Theatre utilisation in the era of COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Introduction & Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has had wide reaching consequences on all aspects of health care. As the number of coronavirus cases has fluctuated, access to operating theatres has been similarly affected. However, when theatres are available and running, the impact of the pandemic on theatre utilisation needs to be quantified. There is a paucity of data on this topic. The aim of this study is to assess theatre utilisation prior to and during the pandemic. Methods: A retrospective review of elective urology theatre utilisation during 2020 at a district general hospital was carried out to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on theatre utilisation. Data was also collected on the number of procedures and cancellations. Results: As expected, there were fewer elective procedures during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic. The utilisation of those theatres that were open decreased during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic levels. However, the efficiency of theatres improved as the pandemic progressed. The number of cancellations per month increased during the pandemic. The increased cancellations during the pandemic were commonly due to patients cancelling, refusing surgery or not attending their scheduled operations. Despite the presence of green elective theatres, where patients are swabbed for COVID prior to entry, the most common reason given was fear of contracting COVID-19 in hospital. Conclusions: It is evident that due to the additional complexities of operating during a pandemic that theatre utilisation is 14.4% lower than pre-pandemic levels. Although this is multifactorial, during the pandemic, the main reason was due to patients cancelling. Measures must be in place to make patients feel comfortable to enter hospitals for elective procedures to reduce the number of cancellations. This will help improve theatre utilisation. (Table Presented).