Objective:
• To practice presenting data in a statistical process control chart format
• To practice interpreting data presented in a statistical process control chart format
Al Amal Hospital is a 300-bed general hospital. It introduced a compulsory incident reporting system on 1/1/2009. On 1/1/2011 it introduced a falls prevention program. Data on patient falls, as well as discharges and occupied bed days per month for January 2009 through December 2011 are given below.
Tasks:
1. Graph the data in control chart format (either manually or using a software). Select the most appropriate type of chart and justify your selection.
2. Set your control limits by using the mean ±3 standard deviations.
3. Identify any special cause variation.
4. Comment on, and interpret the control chart.
Data Set:
Month No. of Falls No. of Discharges No. of Occupied Bed Days Month No. of Falls No. of Discharges No. of Occupied Bed Days
Jan 2009 60 1520 6120 July 2010 107 1690 9786
Feb 2009 51 1601 7192 Aug 2010 78 1682 8123
Mar 2009 73 1502 6556 Sept 2010 99 1701 9178
Apr 2009 33 1480 4979 Oct 2010 123 1590 6120
May 2009 42 1488 5534 Nov 2010 118 1605 7192
June 2009 69 1515 6493 Dec 2010 129 1596 6546
July 2009 21 1490 5020 Jan 2011 42 1588 6388
Aug 2009 50 1480 5147 Feb 2011 32 1540 5875
Sept 2009 42 1501 5071 Mar 2011 29 1490 5084
Oct 2009 20 1470 4432 Apr 2011 21 1509 6799
Nov 2009 43 1481 5496 May 2011 16 1630 6820
Dec 2009 33 1390 4128 June 2011 12 1681 7021
Jan 2010 77 1530 6328 July 2011 11 1655 6786
Feb 2010 45 1503 5895 Aug 2011 10 1690 8111
Mar 2010 59 1496 5084 Sept 2011 11 1715 9163
Apr 2010 76 1578 6799 Oct 2011 9 1597 7534
May 2010 63 1630 9820 Nov 2011 12 1542 6493
June 2010 89 1602 8021 Dec 2011 10 1611 7020