24/7 Utilisation of NHS Operating Theatres

Health & Social Care
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NHS hospitals should maximise the use of their existing operating theatres by running them 24/7. Currently, much of the state-of-the-art surgical equipment and facilities often sit idle overnight and on weekends, despite growing backlogs for elective surgeries. By fully utilising these resources around the clock, the NHS can significantly reduce waiting times, improve patient outcomes, and maximise the return on investments in medical infrastructure.

  1. Maximise Existing Resources: The NHS has already invested heavily in state-of-the-art operating theatres and equipment. Keeping them idle for large portions of the day is an inefficient use of taxpayer money.
  2. Address Surgery Backlogs: Extending operating hours to 24/7 would help tackle the mounting backlog of elective surgeries, especially in the wake of COVID-19, which saw many procedures delayed.
  3. Improved Patient Outcomes: Timely surgeries reduce the risk of complications and improve recovery times. A round-the-clock schedule would allow patients to receive necessary treatments sooner.
  4. Flexible Workforce: By offering shift patterns that include nights and weekends, the NHS can better distribute the workload among surgeons, anaesthetists, and nursing staff, while also providing more flexible working conditions.

Implementation Plan:

  • Start with a pilot programme in major hospitals to test 24/7 surgical schedules.
  • Offer additional pay incentives for staff willing to work overnight and weekend shifts.
  • Partner with medical schools and training institutions to ensure a steady supply of skilled staff.

Operating NHS theatres 24/7 is a practical, efficient solution to address current surgical backlogs, optimise existing resources, and enhance patient care.

4 Likes
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This would be unattractive to staff and it would be difficult to recruit to. A large proportion of clinical theatre staff have family care committments and will be unwilling to work night shifts. When extended theatre sessions have been run IE 0730 to 1930 rather than 0830 to 1630 they have not been shown to be more productive.

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Staff who have children manage quite well during daylight hours.
Those who have partners would find child care cheaper if night shifts were offered and the children could normally be cared for by their partners at night.
I think that the night shift would be a popular option, especially as it would be better pid.

1 Like
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All valid points but not a reason to not do it. People in any walk of life generally have family care commitments, the objective would be to recruit people that want those shift patterns.
Re productivity, if a theatre is open twice as long surely they could schedule twice as many surgeries.

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We need home grown medical staff and need to ensure that the BMA do not control the numbers being trained. Any one who is trained in the UK should remain in the UK if they wish to leave they will then need to pay back the cost of their training.
Lots of people are not encouraged to go into the medical profession because of cost and poor pay, this needs to change funded by a major reduction in senior admin and other non productive employees