PHD STUDENTSHIP-EFFECTIVE PROVISION OF CRITICAL CARE SERVICES: FINDING THE RIGHT NUMBER OF BEDS FOR THE RIGHT NUMBER OF PATIENTS
The Operational Research group within the School of Mathematics at the University of Southampton invites applications for a funded PhD studentship starting from October 2013.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
ThE project is at the intersection of Operational Research and healthcare, and seeks to investigate the operational and clinical implications of providing critical care services to a wider range of surgical patients who are at high risk of complication and death. Two recent studies in the UK show that there exists a high risk surgical population that accounts for only 12% of surgical procedures but for more than two thirds (about 12,000 in 2005) of postoperative deaths. Despite begin readily identified, however, only a small proportion of this population is admitted to a critical care unit at any stage after surgery. Those who do receive critical care are often discharged after a short stay and subsequently linger for many more days in standard wards. The mortality rates were also found to be particularly high for those admitted following an initial period of care in a standard ward, as well as those re-admitted following a premature discharge from critical care. Non-availability of critical care beds as well as doubts over the potential benefits of critical care services for some patients are cited as the major reasons for low admission rates of the high risk group to critical care. Taking an operational research modelling approach, this project would investigate whether a wider admission of the high risk population could improve the mortality rates, and if yes what resource implications it would have.
The model will be a mixed patient-disease and service-delivery model, where the former models the progress of the high risk population through various levels of care requirement, and the latter simulates the usage of resources, e.g. beds and staff, for delivering critical care services. It would enable us to investigate the relation between the proportion of high-risk surgical patients admitted to critical care, the associated mortality rates, and the operational performance of the critical care unit.
The project will run in collaboration with the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) unit at Bristol Royal Infirmary. As a result, the student will spend some time in the hospital observing the processes, collecting data, liaising with staff, and eventually communicating the results. The project will be jointly supervised by Dr. Navid Izady and Prof. Chris Potts.
ELIGIBILITY
Applicants should have completed, or expect to complete before October 2013, a Bachelor’s degree in Operational Research, Mathematics, Statistics, or a related area with at least an upper second class classification, and preferably a Master’s degree.
FUNDING NOTES
Both tuition fees and a competitive stipend depending on the candidate status/qualifications will be paid. Both UK/EU students and international students are encouraged to apply.
HOW TO APPLY
Please send your CV to Dr. Navid Izady at [log in to unmask]
DEADLINES
Applicants must apply for this scholarship online by 5pm (GMT) on Monday 20 May 2013.
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