01 the business
Elective surgical centre
8 theatres, 40 lists a week
Lists are planned with average case times. Some overrun and patients are cancelled; others finish early. Late cancellations leave gaps that are hard to fill, and waiting lists grow.
02 before
The problem
Lists are planned with average or guessed case times, so some overrun and get cancelled while others finish early. Late cancellations leave empty slots that are hard to refill at short notice. Waiting lists grow while theatre time goes unused.
- Lists overrun or finish early unpredictably.
- Patients are cancelled on the day for incomplete checks.
- Freed slots go unused.
03 the build
What the AI does
- Step 1: Reads the waiting list, surgeon availability, theatre sessions and equipment from your theatre system.
- Step 2: Estimates each case's duration from that surgeon's past times for similar procedures.
- Step 3: Proposes lists that fit the session, respect clinical priority and keep equipment and staffing in mind.
- Step 4: Spots likely late cancellations, such as incomplete pre-operative checks, and suggests standby patients who are ready.
- Step 5: Reports overruns, early finishes and late starts by specialty each week.
paused: waiting for a person to approve
How it was put together
- Estimated case durations from each surgeon's past times for similar procedures.
- Proposed lists that fit the session and respect clinical priority.
- Spotted likely cancellations, such as incomplete pre-op checks, and suggested ready standby patients.
- Reported overruns, early finishes and late starts weekly.
04 human in the loop
Where a person stays in charge
Surgeons and schedulers approve every list. Clinical priority is set by the surgical team, and the tool never removes a patient from a list.
- Surgeons and schedulers approve every list.
- Clinical priority is set by the surgical team.
- The tool never removes a patient from a list.
05 rollout
From kickoff to live in 8–10 weeks
- Weeks 1–3Load two years of theatre data and agree rules with surgical leads.
- Weeks 4–6Propose lists for two specialties alongside the schedulers.
- Weeks 7–10Extend to all specialties with weekly review.
06 after
What changes
More of each session is used for operating, fewer patients are cancelled on the day, and waiting lists move faster.
Assume 40 lists a week and better planning adding one extra case to one list in five, over 46 working weeks.
40 × 20% = 8 extra cases a week, or 368 more operations a year from the same theatres.
What to measure
- Session time used for operating.
- On-the-day cancellations.
- Overruns and early finishes.
- Patients treated per list.
07 evidence
What the research says
The global nursing shortage was 5.8 million in 2023 and is projected to be 4.1 million in 2030.
World Health Organization, State of the World's Nursing 2025 (opens in a new tab) · 2025
Around 1 in 10 patients is harmed in health care, and more than half of that harm is preventable.
World Health Organization, Patient safety fact sheet (opens in a new tab) · 2023
08 lessons
Mistakes to avoid
- Using averages. Each surgeon's own history matters.
- Overpacking lists. Overruns cause cancellations.
- No standby patients. Freed slots need ready patients.
09 questions
Common questions
- Does it decide clinical priority?
- No. The surgical team sets priority; the tool fits lists around it.
- Which theatre systems does it use?
- Epic OpTime, Oracle Health SurgiNet and other theatre management systems with data exports.