Has the introduction of an admissions lounge affected theatre start times in a busy teaching hospital environment?

The Admissions Lounge (AL) was introduced with the aims of reducing the number of late starts, improving the patient experience and reducing preoperative length of stay to save bed days. To determine whether a reduction in number of late starts was achieved, 237 start times from pre and post introduction of the AL were collected and analysed. There was no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) between the percentage of lists delayed or the mean delay between pre and post introduction of the AL (mean delay for post AL was 10.17 minutes compared to 9.85 minutes pre AL). The AL had no impact on theatre start times, neither improving nor reducing the operating theatre efficiency in this respect.