Infix national theatre scheduling tool to be rolled out across Scotland

A national theatre scheduling tool aimed to reduce hospital waiting times and enhance operating theatre efficiency will be rolled out to NHS boards over the next year, the Scottish government has announced. 

Scotland’s ‘Care in the Digital Age: delivery plan 2024 -2025‘, published on 9 May 2024, says that work had begun on the automated NHS theatre scheduling system, following a successful pilot through the Accelerated National Innovation Authority pathway in NHS Forth Valley and NHS Lothian.

The theatre scheduling tool, developed by clinician-led tech company Infix, was found to increase operating theatre efficiency by 25% in NHS Lothian without the need for extra medical staff or additional theatres, according to a study by Health Improvement Scotland, published in December 2023.

It also enabled the completion of additional operations for patients which resulted in average daily cost savings of around 7%, estimated to be approximately £1.8 million per year.

The platform is intended to support NHS boards in Scotland to increase productivity, remove paper processes, and reduce the administrative burden involved in the creation and approval of theatre lists, which can delay patient treatment.

A £1.2m investment will allow the software to be rolled out, as part of the government’s drive to embrace digital and technology driven services to enhance health and social care.

In a press release published on 28 May 2024, Scotland’s health secretary, Neil Gray, said: “This technology is backed by more than five years’ worth of NHS operating times data and is just one of the initiatives that will help enable us to schedule 1.5 million procedures per year – while improving data quality to help safely increase productivity”.

He added that it would “help maximise capacity, build greater resilience and reduce waiting lists” as well as reducing the administrative burden on staff, giving them “more time to spend on patient care”.

“This is a shining example of how we are embracing cutting edge tools to tackle the challenges facing health and social care,” Gray said.

The Scottish government told Digital Health News that the vendor evaluation, vetting and selection for the theatre scheduling software was completed in April 2024 and it expects “implementation and delivery to get underway” in summer 2024.

Earlier this month, the Scottish government confirmed that its ‘Cloud First’ digital health strategy, initially due in March 2024, had been delayed following a budget review and settlement.