Effects of methods of admitting emergencies on use of hospital beds.

Abstract

delay in emergency admission, especially for the elderly and those suffering from the effects of chro nic, degenerative diseases, which has been described by Gibson, Hughes, and Broughton (1958) and Warren, Cooper, and Warren (1967). In antithesis, the reservation of too many beds for emergencies will entail poor utilization of beds if the anticipated emergencies fail to materialize. In striking a balance between the beds used for patients undergoing elective investigation or treatment, and those re served for possible emergency admissions, a further complicating factor which must be considered is the wide fluctuation which may occur in the numbers of beds occupied from day to day by patients origin ally admitted as emergencies. In several studies, attempts have been made statistically to assess or predict the numbers of beds