Pediatric Orthopaedic Clinic Case Study

The case study discusses the challenges faced by the Pediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Children’s Hospital of Western Ontario (CHWO) and how they were resolved. The major issue was the extended waiting period for patients. The article suggests ways to minimize the waiting period and improve the performance of the clinic.

Running head: PEDIATRIC ORTHOPAEDIC CLINIC CASE STUDY 1
PEDIATRIC ORTHOPAEDIC CLINIC CASE STUDY
Name
Institution
Date of Submission

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Abstract
The children’s hospital of Western Ontario (CHWO) dealt with the providence of
specialized pediatric services to the children around Ontario, Canada, and London. The clinic has
been faced with a challenge of keeping patients waiting for a long time before receiving the
needed treatment. Once the patient gets in the hospital, he/she has to undergo through a front
desk where registration and verification of documents are carried out. They are then made to wait
before they are sent to the radiology department for X-ray imaging and after that to X-ray clinic
where they are directed to specific examination rooms. Dr. Leitch, the chief overseer, through the
development of a questionnaire, tried to come up with ways in which the waiting period could be
minimized for the patients and parents. Through analysis of the data obtained, the clinic was able
to rectify the time lost while the patients are waiting, thereby improving the performance of the
hospital.
Background information
The CHWO was one of the centers of the London Health Sciences. It was a sizeable
health-care center situated in London, Ontario, Canada. It used to provide specialized pediatric
services to both the infants and children (Klassen, Leitch, & Hora, 2008). It used to offer
specialty services covering about ten counties encompassing 1.4 million people and 400, 000
children. The clinic usually was used for follow-ups, surgery, training of the medical students,
and other forms of treatments. Due to a large number of students being referred from other
centers to CHWO for further treatment and examination the clinic experienced difficulties in
containing them and, hence, the more extended waiting period before service delivery.
Issues and challenges facing CHWO

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The major problem that was facing CHWO was the extended waiting period. Many
patients complained that they wasted a lot of time while waiting to be seen by the surgeon,
nurses, and also the technical staff such as the clerks (Klassen, Leitch, & Hora, 2008). Given that
the young patients were already experiencing a lot of pain; it was unfair to make them wait for
long in the clinic. The same issue arose with the parents, where they complained of spending
much time in the clinic, sometimes, having to miss significant hours from work.
Also, the issue of over-extending of the staff while being provided with the unsuitable
cost of service. The clinic as well required upgrading regarding modern equipment. Most of the
clinic equipment’s were not up to date and, therefore, there was a call for equipment
advancement especially by the Radiology department (Klassen, Leitch, & Hora, 2008). Dr.
Kellie Leitch, therefore, being the Chief overseer of the Pediatric Orthopedic surgery
department, felt there was a need to resolve these issues for better service delivery.
Caliber of analysis
To determine the average waiting time for the patients at the hospital the management
can use the Little’s Law approach as described by Schotanus, 2013. In exhibit 3:
F=Number of patients; F1= New patients, F2= Follow-up patients
P1= Front desk
P2= Radiology department
P3= Hand-off of X-ray to clinic
P4= Examination room
Waiting times for F1= (30 + 58 + 3 + 38) ÷ (4 + 22 + 2 + 19)

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=129 ÷ 47
=2.745 minutes
Waiting time for F2= (25 + 58 + 3 + 33) ÷ (4 + 22 + 2 + 19)
=119 ÷ 47
= 2.5319 minutes
If the management could utilize the appropriate procedures, they can be able to minimize the
waiting minutes by 2.745 minutes for the new patients and 2.532 minutes for the follow-up
patients daily.
Recommendations and basis
To reduce the waiting period, and hence minimize the amount of time the patients and
their parents spent in the hospital; the clinic has to have a well-outlined procedure. It will ensure
no time is wasted from the time the patient is registered at the front desk to the time they are seen
by the surgeon, nurse, or the senior resident student. For instance, the nurses performing the
verification and retrieval of files and other documents should do it faster. Better scheduling and
appointment procedures for new and follow-up patients also could go a long way in improving
the performance of the clinic (Klassen, Leitch, & Hora, 2008). The preparation of rooms between
patients should also be carried out in an orderly manner to minimize time wastage. The clinic
also should invest more in purchasing of new machines such as X-ray which would ensure
numerous clients would be taken in at the same time for examination.
Conclusion

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Long waiting periods is a significant issue affecting hospitals. Many patients complain
that long waiting hours is a huge concern that needs to be rectified. The CHWO under the
management of Dr. Kellie Leitch has tried to bring in new changes such as the introduction of
new machines that can make work easier. Better procedures for registration of new patients and
appointments of follow-up patients also will ensure the waiting period is reduced to significant
time.

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References
Klassen, R., Leitch, K., & Hora, M. (2008). Pediatric orthopedic clinic at the Children’s Hospital
of Western Ontario. Richard Ivey School of Business Case Study, Ivey Management
Services.
Schotanus, F. (2013). Operations management: sustainability and supply chain management.
Journal of purchasing and supply management, 19(4/DECEMBER), 276-276.

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