Efficiency changes in orthopaedic trauma surgery and implications for resource allocation

Background/Aims The trauma and orthopaedic surgery department needed to modify practices as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study quantitatively assessed the effects of changes in resource allocation on the efficiency of trauma, specifically the number of operations performed per defined trauma session. Methods Trauma lists were reviewed pre-COVID, at the peak and at the tail of the first wave of COVID-19 infections at a hospital in the UK. Efficiency was calculated before and after the reallocation of resources and this was defined as the number of cases per trauma session as well as turnaround times for each part of the surgical patient journey. Results The mean trauma list efficiency was 1.73 cases per session in February 2020 compared to 1.89 in February 2019. It reduced to 1.21 during the COVID peak in April 2020 compared to 1.90 in April 2019 and improved to 1.48 per session in June 2020 vs 1.82 in June 2019. Conclusions Measures introduced at the start of the pandemic are likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Increased allocation of resources would be needed to allow urgent trauma surgery to provide a timely and efficient service.