A Study of Waiting And Service Costs of A Multi-Server Queuing Model In A Specialist Hospital

Abstract- The effect of queuing in relation to the time spent by patients to access clinical services is increasingly becoming a major source of concern to most health -care providers. This is because keeping patients waiting too long could result to cost to them waiting cost. Providing too much service capacity to operate a system involves excessive cost. But not providing enough service capacity results in excessive waiting time and cost. In this study the queuing characteristics at the Riverside Specialist Clinic of the Federal Medical Centre Makurdi was analysed using a Multi-server queuing Model and the Waiting and service Costs determined with a view to determining the optimal service level. Data for this study was collected at the Riverside specialist clinic for four weeks through observations interviews and by administering questionnaire. The data was analysed using TORA optimization Software as well as using descriptive analysis. The results of the analysis showed that average queue length waiting time of patients as well as overutilization of doctors at the Clinic could be reduced at an optimal server level of 12 doctors and at a minimum total cost as against the present server level of 10 doctors with high Total Cost which include waiting and service costs. This model can also be used by decision and other policy makers to solve other Multi-server queuing problems.