Location-allocation modelling for the geographical distribution and organisation of health services

Abstract: Examples of geographical distribution and organisation of health services are the location of outpatient departments within a city and the provision of particular services such as cardiac, cleft lip and palate, and dental services, across a region. Important issues in the provision of services include the location of the service centres, service capacities, geographical distribution of patients, and ease of access to the health services. These types of geographical problem fall under the general heading of location-allocation problems. In this talk, we review some of the existing location-allocation literature, with particular attention given to those within the health service domain. The development of a stochastic geographical patient-based simulation model is described with case studies from dental services across London, and the provision of cardiac services across Eastern England. Finally, we discuss some future research directions using mathematical network flow models, and collaboration with hospitals in India, where we are hoping to evaluate options for multi-level health services to serve millions of people over a large geographical region.