Rotamap

Cross-department Benchmarking Data

15 March 2012

At the 2012 March Management & Training Day the CLWRota team presented several graphs showing both individual department and cross-departmental activity. The main focus of analysis data was cross-departmental benchmarks which incorporated data from 26 departments which have used the CLWRota anaesthetics rota management system for at least 12 months.

Data for the benchmark reports came from the CLWRota system together with session scoring information from an early release of our Rota Management Console. Each department's name has been replaced with a random two character code to maintain anonymity.

Department Activity

A department's activity for the year to February 2012

One department's activity for the year to February 2012

First, a set of graphs were shown of individual department activity. DCC activity of various types is stacked above the zero line, with leave shown below the zero line.

The department activity graph is useful for showing how various factors, such as trainee solo sessions or the extra & locum sessions, contribute to DCC session delivery. Variations in leave through the year can also be easily discerned, as can the balance of planned, unplanned (such as leave for sickness) and study/professional leave.

Few departments show a dip in activity in August 2011. The three bank holidays in April 2011 caused significant drops in activity across most departments.

Trainee solo activity

Extra activity as a proportion of all department activity

Trainee solo sessions as a proportion of all department activity

This benchmark shows trainee solo sessions (that is, trainee led sessions) as a proportion of all department activity. The boxplot shows the variation in results on a monthly basis for each department.

The mean solo session rate across the departments was 5.4%, with a median of 4.5%.

It should be noted that some departments with a high proportion of solo sessions have very good training records, and have used techniques such as mentoring locations or dedicated, "starred" consultants to monitor and support trainees working alone.

Extra sessions

Paid-for extra activity as a proportion of all department activity

The extra session benchmark shows the proportion of paid-for extra sessions as a proportion of all department activity. Note that while some departments using the extra session accounting features of CLWRota to track sessions for reasons other than tracking extra sessions, extras of these types have been excluded from the data through rescoring through the management console.

The mean extra session rate was 6.6% and the median 4.1%.

Study and Professional Leave

The benchmark shows the proportion of study and professional leave as a proportion of normal activity. Normal activity is defined for the purpose of the study as activity that does not include trainee solo, external locum or extra (paid for) activity.

Study and professional leave as a proportion of normal activity.

Leave is accounted for on a missed session basis. Counting on this basis is only for leave when a consultant is expected to be working.

The mean and median are 6.2% and 6.5% respectively.

Expected against Anticipated Activity

Sessions delivered by consultants and middle grades as a proportion of expected sessions

Part of the management console scoring exercise for the benchmark data was a process of determining anticipated activity for consultant and middle grade staff.

The determination of anticipated activity for a department is complicated by part-time workers or workers leaving part-way through the year whose anticipated activity could not be recalled. (These issues will be dealt with by version 2 of the Management Console.) The usefulness of this benchmark is also mitigated by the fact that that there is a wide range of anticipated weeks of activity by full time staff, from 38 weeks to 43 weeks, and differing policies about compensation for job-planned sessions falling on bank holidays.

As a consequence of these factors, this benchmark should be considered "Draft" status only. Despite its provisional nature, the benchmark does show that about a third of departments meet or exceed their anticipated DCC sessional activity.

Notes:

For the purposes of these graphs 'normal activity' is defined as sessions provided by a consultant or a middle grade where they are working at normal rate. 'All activity' is defined as normal activity, plus trainee's working on solo sessions, plus extra activity, plus locum activity. Each department box is made from the range of values, one for each month, from the period 1st February 2011 to 31st January 2012.

Questions

If you have any questions about the above ideas or would like to know more about how to get reports from your system please contact the CLWRota support team at support@rotamap.net or 020 7631 1555.

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