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Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust have purchased Lanner Group’s WITNESS software to model the Trust’s in-patient waiting lists. The simulation-based software has been used to analyse the impact of proposed Purchaser contract targets on the waiting time for patients needing general surgery, ophthalmology or urology operations. The findings revealed that the proposed contract targets would not have allowed the Trust to keep within the Government’s 18-month Patient Charter guarantee. Through the use of WITNESS, the hospital has been able to persuade Health Authorities to commission additional elective activity valued at approximately £150,000 and also to appreciate the inter-dependencies of the out-patient and in-patient queues.