An assessment of basic treatment equivalent at Cookridge Hospital

The Australian model of Basic Treatment Equivalent (BTE) for measuring radiotherapy treatment productivity was developed for and tested within a busy UK radiotherapy centre and the results assessed against three other BTE models. The department's productivity was compared for three different models of treatment machine. Treatment fraction durations were timed for 362 consecutive treatment episodes on three treatment machines at Cookridge Hospital, Leeds. The treatment factors found to have a statistically significant impact on fraction duration were: initial fraction; patient mobility; number of fields; treatment intent and the type of treatment machine. In comparison with the Australasian study, shorter mean fraction times were shown for a number of types of treatment, carried out on one particular linac type, which had multileaf collimation (MLC). The average non-operational time was 17% at Cookridge (31% in Australasia) with overall productivity gains. This efficiency may have been achieved partly by a higher number of staff per machine (five rather than four) and the presence of newer technology such as MLC. A BTE model was derived for Cookridge using the significant treatment factors and compared to other published models. The Cookridge model was most sensitive in predicting productivity. BTE models developed by other groups were also excellent in predicting treatment duration. The development of a BTE model is potentially applicable in the U.K. radiotherapy community at a time when optimizing activity per radiographer is key to minimizing waiting times.