We asked Dr Douglas Elder and Dr Alan Robertson why they developed EKORA Scheduling.
Alan: “Cath labs are one of the most resource-intensive areas in a hospital, highly skilled staff, expensive equipment, and complex procedures. Every minute counts, yet it’s surprisingly easy for small delays to add up and reduce the number of cases we can complete in a day.
If you lose 20 minutes in the morning before the first case starts, then another 20 between cases, you’ve effectively lost a whole procedure’s worth of time.”
Douglas: “Those time losses often have nothing to do with effort or dedication. They’re usually the result of unplanned or external factors, a patient not being fully ready, a change in staffing, an equipment check taking longer than expected, or an emergency case that forces us to reshuffle the list.”
Alan: “The problem is, without real-time visibility, you only realise the impact after it’s too late to recover the time. The day finishes, and you’re left thinking we could have treated another patient.”
Douglas: “That’s why in EKORA Scheduling, every stage of the procedure is timestamped, from patient arrival through to lab exit. If there’s a delay, the reason is logged. Over time, that builds a powerful picture showing the root causes, so we can spot patterns and put targeted service improvement plans with EKORA.”
Alan: “Exactly. It’s not about pushing people harder. It’s about using the resources we have, staff, equipment, rooms, in the most effective way possible. Closing that 20% utilisation gap isn’t just a financial saving; it means shorter waiting lists and more patients treated with the same workforce.”
Douglas: “For us as cardiologists, that’s the real win, better use of expensive resources, less wasted time, and ultimately more patients getting the care they need, sooner.”
Closing the 20% Cath Lab Capacity Gap
UK and international studies have shown that many cath labs run up to 20% below optimal capacity, with missed slots, delayed first cases, and long gaps between procedures. This under-utilisation means fewer patients treated, longer waiting lists, and lost opportunities to meet strategic targets.
For a hospital with three cath labs, closing that 20% gap could free capacity worth the equivalent of £600k a year. For a larger hospital group, the figure can exceed £1.5 million annually, without adding staff or building new facilities.
How EKORA Scheduling Supports the NHS England Long Term Plan
The NHS England Long Term Plan calls for elective recovery, workforce productivity, and digitally-enabled care. EKORA Scheduling helps deliver on these priorities by:
- Reducing first-case delays – Captures and analyses delay reasons to drive continuous improvement.
- Speeding up room turnover – Timestamped procedure stages pinpoint where time is lost.
- Managing emergency/elective conflicts – Drag-and-drop reordering maximises flexibility to fit in extra cases.
- Filling underutilised lists – Identifies unused capacity so more patients can be treated.
Find out how much your cath labs could save.
https://www.ekora.io/contact-us/