Modeling the critical care pathway for cardiothoracic surgery.

The west of Scotland heart and lung center based at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital houses all adult cardiothoracic surgery for the region. Increased demand for scheduled patients and fluctuations in emergency referrals resulted in increasing waiting times and patient cancellations. The main issue was limited resources, which was aggravated by the stochastic nature of the length of stay (LOS) and arrival of patients.