Modelling vaccination capacity at mass vaccination hubs and general practice clinics: a simulation study

• Published in: BMC health services research Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 1 - 1059
• Main Authors: Hanly, Mark, Churches, Tim, Fitzgerald, Oisín, Caterson, Ian, MacIntyre, Chandini Raina, Jorm, Louisa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central Ltd 19-08-2022; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Bottlenecks; Clinics; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccines; Customer services; Emergency medical care; Health care delivery; Health services research; Immunization; Management; Medical appointments and schedules; Methods; Pandemics; Public health; Queues; Queuing theory; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Simulation; Software; Stochastic network models; User interface; Vaccination; Workforce planning; Australia
• DOI: 10.1186/s12913-022-08447-8
• EISSN: 1472-6963

Background COVID-19 mass vaccination programs place an additional burden on healthcare services. We aim to model the queueing process at vaccination sites to inform service delivery. Methods We use stochastic queue network models to simulate queue dynamics in larger mass vaccination hubs and smaller general practice (GP) clinics. We estimate waiting times and daily capacity based on a range of assumptions about appointment schedules, service times and staffing and stress-test these models to assess the impact of increased demand and staff shortages. We also provide an interactive applet, allowing users to explore vaccine administration under their own assumptions. Results Based on our assumed service times, the daily throughput for an eight-hour clinic at a mass vaccination hub ranged from 500 doses for a small hub to 1400 doses for a large hub. For GP clinics, the estimated daily throughput ranged from about 100 doses for a small practice to almost 300 doses for a large practice. What-if scenario analysis showed that sites with higher staff numbers were more robust to system pressures and mass vaccination sites were more robust than GP clinics. Conclusions With the requirement for ongoing COVID-19 booster shots, mass vaccination is likely to be a continuing feature of healthcare delivery. Different vaccine sites are useful for reaching different populations and maximising coverage. Stochastic queue networks offer a flexible and computationally efficient approach to simulate vaccination queues and estimate waiting times and daily throughput to inform service delivery. Keywords: Stochastic network models, Queues, Health services research, Vaccination, COVID-19