How did hospitals manage the enormous challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic? Hendrik Winzer's Doctoral Thesis explores hospital operational performance and capacity limitations, and develops a decision support tool for crisis management. The findings provide a deeper understanding of effective strategies and the need for standardization in crisis management.
The Covid-19 pandemic from 2019 to 2021 was a complex crisis that shifted in time and space, making it very challenging for the healthcare sector in Norway and around the world to respond effectively. Hospitals had to adapt quickly by postponing or canceling appointments to keep spare capacity to treat Covid-19 patients.
Hendrik Winzer’s doctoral thesis offers an in-depth investigation into hospital operations during the initial phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. His research, compiled into four comprehensive articles, explores various aspects of how hospitals responded to this unprecedented crisis.
One of the findings was that hospitals that focus on facts and figures rather than experiences making crisis decisions perform better. There was no standard strategy observed between the two hospitals studied.
Another finding was that the number and skills of medical staff, and the challenges of getting accurate and timely information, were seen as the biggest limitations. These issues varied across different departments and hierarchical levels. It also emphasizes that effective communication channels are crucial for creating a productive working environment during a crisis with minimal perceived limitations.
To improve future crisis response, he develops a decision support tool for optimal nurse training, taking into account uncertainties in both patient demand and staff availability. The proposed model aims to help hospital operations managers make informed decisions about nurse staffing levels and target training activities.
Hendrik Winzer’s research is unique as it is one of the few empirical studies focused on crisis management in healthcare. It provides a foundational basis for standardizing crisis responses, which can significantly improve the handling of similar situations in the future.