Healthcare Operations: Challenges and Solutions in Tragerfield Integrated Healthcare Centre

Healthcare Operations 1
HEALTHCARE OPERATIONS
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Healthcare Operations 2
Healthcare Operations
Executive Summary
In spite of its affluence, Australia is no exemption from shortages of healthcare
professionals, which are experienced globally. The mismatch in Australia between the demand
for healthcare and the supply of healthcare professionals is likely to become worse in the next
one decade. In Australia, the shortages of beds and professionals and its impacts of
misdistribution are worst in rural areas. The current healthcare system faces numerous problems
that include access block, shortage of workface, funding, and inadequate bed capacity. Australia
would not be able to meet the demand of healthcare basically by increasing the supply of health
care personnel and beds, but with creative strategy to demand and supply, it must be possible to
meet the demand for healthcare via different actions. The emergency department (ED) has been
much affected by these challenges and there a need for solutions to address them. The use of
business process reengineering and systems theory, proper selection and recruitment process, and
allocating more resources are potential solutions. The paper will examine key issues affecting
Tragerfield Integrated Healthcare Centre (TIHC) and develop solutions to address the current
problems in ED.

Healthcare Operations 3
Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Findings...........................................................................................................................................4
Issues............................................................................................................................................4
Solutions..........................................................................................................................................7
Business Process Reengineering (BPR) and Change Management................................................7
Systems Theory............................................................................................................................8
Reducing New and Return Appointments...................................................................................8
Resources.....................................................................................................................................9
Provide Care only to Patients with Emergencies.........................................................................9
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................10
Conclusions....................................................................................................................................11
List of References..........................................................................................................................12

Healthcare Operations 4
Introduction
In spite of its affluence, Australia is no exemption from shortages of healthcare
professionals, which are experienced globally. The mismatch in Australia between the demand
for healthcare and the supply of healthcare professionals is likely to become worse in the next
one decade. In Australia, the shortages of beds and professionals and its impacts of
misdistribution are worst in rural areas. This worsens the situation where individuals in rural
regions already have worse health than those individuals in urban areas in Australia. Access
block and increasing presentations because of the ageing population has become a major
challenge for public hospitals in Australia. Access block is linked to augmented emergency
department (ED) wait time for health care plus results in ED overcrowding (Arain, Campbell &
Nicholl, 2015, pp. 295). Therefore, solving the undersupply of health professionals and beds and
achieving a better distribution of those in practice are; thus, critical challenges for rural
population in Australia (LaCalle & Rabin, 2010, pp. 43).
Findings
Issues
Access block affecting the emergency department (ED) might be defined as a
phenomenon that comprising nearly all the problems in contemporary emergency departments.
This challenge is more pronounced in most healthcare facilities in rural areas (Hwang et al.,
2011, pp. 529 ). Access block or delay in admission of individuals to hospital inpatient areas
from emergency departments, may be explained as a full system challenge, the equal of “Theory