The sim shows how a pathway with two stages can get blocked, and what to do about it.

The model runs for 365 days. Every day

• 20 people are referred to hospital
• they have an average stay of 5 days
• 5% need a care package and remain in hospital until one is available (delayed discharges)
• average duration of a care package is 24 months

As a commissioner, you may spend your budget on hospital beds at £400 per day, or care packages at £120 per week.

Use sliders to set the budget and allocate a proportion to social care. Then run the model. The objective is to achieve 0 people waiting for hospital (the dotted red line on the right hand graph).

When you click on Run, the model runs for the whole period and stays ‘live’, so you can still adjust the sliders.

When you click on Step Forward, the model moves forward for one quarter. You can adjust the sliders when the model is paused.

Below

Another way of looking at this model, showing its stocks and flows

(under development)