Lowering bed occupancy: a life-saving intervention?

Hospital bed occupancy: more than queuing for a bed.

Timely access to safe hospital care remains a major concern. Target bed-occupancy rates have been proposed as a measure of the ability of a hospital to function safely and effectively. High bed-occupancy rates have been shown to be associated with greater risks of hospital-associated infection and access block and to have a negative impact on staff health. Clinical observational data have sugge...

Life saving intervention in the neonatal period: dilemmas and decisions.

In defending a patient's rights, whether it be 'to have prenatal diagnosis', 'to have a caesarean section', or 'to submit to lifesaving interventions', we must never lose sight of that most fundamental right of all-the right of choiceand the right not to have what doctors sometimes assume that patients will or should want. The right to die, or more specifically the right to die with dignity, co...

AIDS and hospital bed occupancy: an overview.

In several countries of sub-Saharan Africa more than 10% of the adult population are infected with HIV, while in large towns such as Kampala, Lusaka, Blantyre, Kigali and Harare this proportion exceeds 25%. One of the most obvious consequences is the increased occupancy of hospital beds by patients with HIV infection, perhaps to the exclusion of patients with other ailments. This paper gives an...

Bed occupancy not an index of efficiency.

Life-saving and life-taking: a comment.