Objectives: The authors investigated whether models using time series methods can generate accurate short-term forecasts of emergency department (ED) bed occupancy, using traditional historical averages models as comparison. Methods: From July 2005 through June 2006, retrospective hourly ED bed occupancy values were collected from three tertiary care hospitals. Three models of ED bed occupancy ...

The Northern Ireland Section (Irish Division) of the Royal College of Psychiatrists were requested to investigate apparent increasing pressures on acute psychiatric beds. Information on bed occupancy and associated service activity was collected by clinicians on site in every psychiatric unit in Northern Ireland over the past eight years. Three separate years (1987, 1991 and 1995) were studied....

1Agency for Integrated Care Pte Ltd Address for Correspondence: Dr Dennis Chia Bingzhu, Agency for Integrated Care, 5 Maxwell Road, #10-00 Tower Block, MND complex, Singapore 069110. Email: [email protected] The Need for Transitional Care Over the past three decades, Singapore’s healthcare system has evolved into one that comprises some 35 specialties which has helped to better manage th...

AIM To identify factors contributing to significant differences between two university hospital departments of ophthalmology, one in Paris, France, and the other in Zagreb, Croatia, in their clinical effectiveness and cost-efficiency. METHOD Structural, clinical, and financial characteristics of a Croatian and French ophthalmology department were compared for the 1996-2000 period. We used Par...

The NHS Plan 1 makes the commitments that a patient’s total time in accident and emergency (A&E) will be no more than four hours. Many trusts are currently struggling to reduce four hour trolley waits (the time from the decision to admit (DTA) to leaving A&E). A recent survey conducted by the BMA and the British Association for Accident and Emergency Medicine suggests that official figures give...

Neonatal mortality rate in India is high and stagnant. Special Care Newborn Units (SCNUs) are being set up to provide quality level II newborn care services in district hospitals of several districts to meet this challenge. The units are located in some of the remotest districts where the burden of neonatal deaths and accessibility to special care is a concern. A recently concluded evaluation...

Introduction Recent trends seem to point out that growing numbers of patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) and protracted weaning after critical illness with eventually account for a large portion of all Intensive Care Unit (ICU) cost and bed occupancy. Specialized Weaning Unit (WU), may facilitate weaning through focused multidisciplinary expert team, but due to considerabl...

The number of acute medical admissions to hospital continues to rise although not all need a prolonged stay. At the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead, a short-stay unit (SSU) was developed specifically for such patients. Admissions to SSU over the first three weeks of 2006 were assessed. A total of 209 patients were admitted to SSU (10 patients a day). This accounted for 35% of all admissions...