Operating Room Performance Review
A structured assessment of operating theatre performance across utilisation, scheduling, starts, turnover, cancellations, throughput and patient flow, with prioritised improvement opportunities.
Read moreOperating Room Management Consulting Services Sydney
OR Management Consulting works with hospitals, day hospitals and surgical facilities across Sydney and NSW to improve operating theatre utilisation, procurement and FF&E planning, staffing alignment, patient flow and perioperative performance through practical, data-informed operational review.
- Theatre utilisation & capacity analysis
- Procurement management and FF&E support
- Patient flow & PACU coordination
- Staffing, rostering & workforce alignment
- Staff education and training
Professional registrations & memberships
Specialist, not generalist
Consulting focused only on operating rooms, operating theatres and perioperative services.
Emily Leckie - operating theatre, perioperative and hospital operations consultant
Emily Leckie is a Sydney-based consultant with a nursing, perioperative management and healthcare commercial background. She holds a Bachelor of Nursing from the University of Sydney and a Post Graduate Certificate in Anaesthetic and Recovery Room Nursing from the NSW College of Nursing.
Emily was Nurse Unit Manager of Operating Theatres at Kareena Private Hospital, leading a team of nurses and anaesthetists with departmental profit and loss responsibility and the commissioning of two new operating theatres.
Since 2014 she has worked across NSW and ACT hospitals in clinical consulting, capital equipment and project roles covering operating theatres, ICU, NICU and hospital-wide patient monitoring, including project management of hospital redevelopments and engagement with executive and procurement decision-makers.
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Background & Qualifications
Bachelor of NursingUniversity of Sydney
Post Grad CertificateAnaesthetic & Recovery Room Nursing, NSW College of Nursing
Nurse Unit ManagerOperating Theatres, Kareena Private Hospital
Grad CertificateManaging & Assessing Acute Adult Pain, NSW College of Nursing
20+ yearsNursing and management experience in hospitals
Cert IV BusinessFoundation Education
Cert IV Assessment & Workplace TrainingTAFE (refresher 2020)
Ramsay Engage Management TrainingRamsay Training Institute
The operational challenge
Improving operating theatre performance requires a holistic approach
Operating theatre performance rarely depends on a single metric. Scheduling practices, patient preparation, theatre start times, case sequencing, changeovers, recovery capacity, bed availability, workforce rostering, data quality and clinical engagement all influence how efficiently surgical services operate within a hospital.
OR Management Consulting reviews the complete perioperative operating model - from pre-admission through theatre, PACU and ward transfer - so that hospital executives and perioperative leaders can see where operating theatre capacity is being lost and which operational changes are likely to matter most.
- Underutilised theatre sessions, unused blocks and early finishes
- Late first-case starts, session overruns and long turnover times
- Day-of-surgery cancellations and inconsistent scheduling practices
- Mismatched surgical demand and theatre capacity, PACU congestion
- Limited visibility of theatre metrics and unclear performance accountability
Consulting areas
Where OR Management Consulting can help
Each engagement is scoped to the operational questions your organisation needs answered, using the theatre activity, scheduling, staffing and workflow information available.
Theatre Utilisation & Capacity Analysis
Analysis of available and used theatre hours, session and block utilisation, allocated versus unused capacity, and how current capacity aligns with elective and emergency surgical demand.
Read moreSurgical Scheduling & Block Management
Review of case scheduling, theatre lists, planned versus historical case duration, session allocation, unused blocks and release processes to support more informed allocation decisions.
Read moreFirst-Case Starts & Delay Analysis
Delay classification and root-cause analysis covering patient, surgeon, anaesthetic and theatre readiness, equipment and instrument availability, transport and pre-operative processes.
Read morePatient Flow & Perioperative Coordination
Mapping of pre-admission, admission, pre-operative preparation, theatre, PACU and ward transfer to identify handoff issues, bed constraints and communication bottlenecks.
Read moreStaffing & Rostering Analysis
Review of perioperative staffing models, skill mix, session coverage, rostering patterns and overtime to improve alignment between workforce resources and surgical activity.
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Why it matters
Operating theatres are among the most resource-intensive environments in any hospital
Surgical capacity influences access to planned surgery, theatre staffing costs, bed demand and the ability of a facility to meet increasing surgical volumes. Small workflow issues - a late start, an unprepared instrument set, a delayed transfer - can compound across a surgical day and reduce the number of cases completed within an allocated session.
Because perioperative performance involves multiple departments, sustainable improvement requires both operational analysis and the involvement of clinical, nursing and management stakeholders. Reliable performance data supports better management decisions; consulting support helps translate that data into practical action.
Operating room management is more than a productivity calculation. Utilisation targets must be interpreted alongside clinical requirements, workforce realities, emergency demand and case complexity.
Visibility
Clear, consistently defined measures of theatre utilisation, first-case starts, turnover, cancellations and schedule variance.
Diagnosis
Separation of symptoms from underlying operational causes across scheduling, workflow, workforce and patient flow.
Action
Prioritised recommendations and a staged implementation roadmap that suits your facility and leadership capacity.
Our consulting process
A practical, adaptable approach to operating theatre improvement
Not every engagement follows an identical methodology. Scope, data availability and organisational priorities shape how each operating room consulting engagement is delivered.
Initial Consultation
Discuss your facility, operating theatre environment, current operational challenges and the outcomes leadership is seeking.
Define The Scope
Agree on the operational questions, theatres, departments, data sources and processes included in the engagement.
Review Available Data
Analyse theatre activity, utilisation, scheduling, cancellation, staffing and performance information already held by the organisation.
Understand Current Workflows
Map relevant perioperative processes, observe workflows where appropriate and identify variation, constraints and handoff issues.
Engage Key Stakeholders
Gather input from perioperative, nursing, anaesthetic, surgical and management stakeholders involved in surgical services.
Identify Improvement Opportunities
Prioritise opportunities based on operational impact, practicality and the organisation’s clinical and workforce requirements.
Develop Recommendations
Provide specific recommendations tied to your operating environment rather than generic management frameworks.
Support Implementation
Where included in scope, assist leadership with implementation planning, milestones, monitoring and refinement.
Operating Theatre Performance Review
- Structured operational assessment scoped to your facility
- Utilisation, scheduling, starts, turnover, cancellations and flow
- On-site and remote delivery across Sydney and NSW
What Your Organisation Receives
- Clearer visibility of operating theatre performance
- Identification of operational bottlenecks and unused capacity
- Prioritised, practical recommendations for leadership
- Better-defined performance measures and reporting
- A staged implementation roadmap where included in scope
Who we work with
Supporting surgical services across the healthcare sector
OR Management Consulting provides Operating Room Management Consulting Services to healthcare organisations that plan, deliver or govern surgical activity in Sydney and NSW.
- Public hospitals
- Private hospitals
- Day hospitals
- Surgical centres
- Specialist surgical facilities
- Perioperative departments
- Hospital executive teams
- Directors of Nursing
- Theatre managers & NUMs
Engagements are commonly requested by Chief Executive Officers, Chief Operating Officers, Directors of Perioperative Services, Surgical Services Managers and operational performance teams reviewing theatre utilisation, capacity or scheduling.
Sydney & NSW
Operating theatre consulting across Sydney Metro, Greater Sydney and NSW
OR Management Consulting provides Operating Room Management Consulting Services to hospitals, day hospitals and surgical facilities across Sydney Metro, Greater Sydney and NSW, with remote data review and on-site work arranged to suit your operating schedule.
- Sydney CBD
- Inner Sydney
- Eastern Suburbs
- Inner West
- North Shore
- Northern Beaches
- Western Sydney
- Greater Western Sydney
- Hills District
- South-West Sydney
- Southern Sydney
- Sutherland Shire
- Macarthur
- Regional NSW
FAQs
Common questions from healthcare decision-makers
What does an operating room management consultant do?
An operating room management consultant reviews how a hospital’s operating theatres and perioperative services operate - including theatre utilisation, scheduling, session allocation, first-case starts, turnover, cancellations, staffing and patient flow - then identifies operational constraints and develops prioritised, practical recommendations for leadership.
What are Operating Room Management Consulting Services?
Operating Room Management Consulting Services cover operational assessment and advisory support for operating rooms and operating theatres. Engagements may include performance review, utilisation and capacity analysis, scheduling and block management review, workflow mapping, KPI and dashboard development, governance review and implementation support where included in scope.
How can operating theatre utilisation be improved?
Improvement usually begins with defining how utilisation is measured, then examining session allocation, list construction, planned versus actual case duration, start and finish times, turnover and cancellations. Once the sources of lost capacity are understood, scheduling and workflow changes can be targeted where they are most likely to release usable theatre time.
Do you provide operating room consulting across Sydney and NSW?
Yes. OR Management Consulting supports hospitals, day hospitals and surgical facilities across Sydney Metro, the Greater Sydney metropolitan area and NSW, including regional NSW facilities where travel and scheduling can be arranged.
How long does an operating room consulting engagement take?
Duration depends on scope, the number of theatres involved, the quality and availability of data, and whether implementation support is included. A focused review of a single operational issue is far shorter than a whole-of-service perioperative assessment; timeframes are confirmed after the initial consultation.
Improve the performance of your operating theatres
If your organisation is reviewing theatre utilisation, surgical scheduling, capacity, cancellations, patient flow or perioperative performance, speak with OR Management Consulting about a structured operational review.