The first phase of a five year project to improve patient access to five clinical services at the New Brunswick Heart Centre in Saint John has resulted in cardiovascular surgery wait times getting slashed.
In a six-month period, operating room capacity has been increased by 14-percent, the average wait times have been reduced by 44-percent from about four months to two months, maximum wait times for 9 out of 10 patients have been reduced by 31-percent and patient wait time during the discharge process have been reduced by an average of half a day.
The project is a partnership between the Horizon Health Network and Medtronic Integrated Health Solutions and aims to improve patient access to five clinical services at the NBHC.
“The end goal is to improve on the efficiencies overall, we hope to with every year gain at least a couple hundred thousand dollars in efficiencies.”
She says so far the return has been as projected.
Now, the NBHC is looking to the second phase of the project which will focus on making the NBHC’s catheterization lab more efficient.