Shouldice Hospitals Ltd.

SHOULDICE HOSPITAL LIMITED

The problem under analysis is how to best increase the hospital's capacity to serve more patients while at the same time maintaining control over quality of service delivered as well as sustaining existing high levels of employee and patient (customer) satisfaction.

SWOT analysis

Strengths

 Unique and defined Surgical procedure (could not be varied)

 Facility that encourages movement

 Up to date equipment

 Less time taken (time for operation as well as for recovery is lower than industry average)

 Educated and experienced and efficient surgeons (perform 600 or more operations in a yr while industry average is 25-50 ops/yr)

 Lower nurse-to-patient ratio required which reduces costs

 Efficient, good quality and mostly uniform service

 Huge demands

 Pay scale of staff higher than union scale of comparable jobs in the area

 Unique training in administration which allows switching work amongst secretaries

 Reasonable rates***

Weaknesses

 High backlogs of scheduled operations

 Limited beds

 Services are not patented

Opportunities

 Diversification at other locations into other specialties with similar opportunities

 Establish another hospital in/outside Canada

 Add to capacity

 Better advertising Threats

 Competitors (using the Shouldice name )

*** IN SHOULDICE

charge for typical operation with 4days stay = $111

surgical fee for primary inguinal operation = $450

fee for assistant surgeon = $60

general anesthetic (if required) = $75

TOTAL = $ 696

ELSEWHERE

TOTAL cost is between $2000 to $4000.

Therefore, even patients coming from North America found it cheaper to get operated in Shouldice as round trip from major cities in North America to Toronto ranged from roughly $200 to $600.

Alternative strategies:

1) To stay at a present level and continue to do as they are currently doing.

2) Add more capacity in the