Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is joining forces with software provider Simul8 and Cranfield University for a four-month pilot project aimed at enhancing patient flow management using simulation.
The initiative, currently underway at the trauma and orthopaedics clinic at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital, is being funded by the Innovate UK Accelerated Knowledge Transfer scheme and is set to conclude in August 2024.
By leveraging historical data from Bedfordshire Hospitals, gathered through the DASHclinic app, researchers from Cranfield University and Simul8 are simulating a typical hospital day to improve operational efficiency.
The DASHclinic app, in use at Bedfordshire Hospitals since 2022, captures data on appointment timings, procedure durations, and x-ray wait times, enabling predictive modeling for future clinics and the development of a new optimizing tool to identify and resolve bottlenecks.
Mr. Jim Gray, clinical director of trauma and orthopaedics at Bedfordshire Hospitals and creator of DASHclinic, stated, “I think that the future of clinics lies in data metrics and AI, which can help us schedule more efficiently, reduce waiting lists, and operate with fewer staff.”
If successful, the pilot could pave the way for the implementation of a simulation-powered digital twin at Bedfordshire Hospitals, allowing for real-time patient management optimization.
“I hope that the data extract will lead us to a smart scheduler to address the challenges we face,” Gray added.
In a separate article for Digital Health in March 2024, Simul8’s Director of Strategic Partnerships for Healthcare, Tom Stephenson, discussed the potential of simulation to tackle the NHS elective care backlog.
