Abstract for: A Systems Thinking Approach To Investigating Delayed Discharges In The UK

Outlined is the systems based process used to investigate delayed discharging, which combines parts of the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) with Systems Dynamics (SD).At the early stages use of hard system approaches were inappropriate to investigate this type of complex problem. SSM was used to consider the soft problems present, expressing the problem situation as a rich picture. This informed construction of a SD model to investigate policy interventions for reducing delayed discharges. This process had practical implications for structuring qualitative data to inform the SD methodology.