Question 1 Report
A hospital has one operating theatre available for an afternoon. Managers must choose whether it is used for six planned cataract operations or emergency surgery after a road accident.
(a) What is the opportunity cost of using the theatre for emergency surgery? [1]
(b) Explain why this choice is an example of resource allocation. [2]
(a) The opportunity cost is the six planned cataract operations that cannot be carried out at that time. [1]
(b) The operating theatre, surgeons and available time are scarce resources. Managers must choose whether these resources are used for planned cataract operations or emergency surgery. Deciding which service receives scarce resources is resource allocation. [2]
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