Beds exclusively or predominantly for overnight stay admitted care, beds exclusively or predominantly for same-day admitted care and, if required, non-special care neonatal cots are to be collected and reported in separate categories. Hospitals should establish clear recording and reporting practices. Criteria should exist to ensure that each available bed is counted once and only once. A bed should first be assessed as available and then categorised to its predominant use. For large hospitals, a reconciliation of the sum of the bed types and an unduplicated establishment bed count is advisable. The assessment of availability must reflect the ability of the hospital to provide the necessary resources. This can be significantly impacted by seasonal demand or events such as a strike, clinical staff shortage, fire or renovation. This is illustrated by the following examples. Example 1: A large maternity hospital, which conducts a daily bed count, has a ward (not an approved intensive care facility) containing 20 cots used to accommodate newborns. The funding for this ward would allow an average of 15 cots to be staffed over the year. Provided demand is constant and there are no circumstances which prevent these cots from being available for patients, such as a strike, clinical staff shortage, fire or renovation, the hospital would report 15 available cots for this ward. Example 2: A maternity hospital, which conducts a monthly bed count, has a ward (not an approved intensive care facility) containing 30 cots used to accommodate newborns. It manages its resources in such a way that it is staffed for 30 cots for four months of the year and staffed for 24 cots during the remaining eight months. The annual average number of available cots is the average of the twelve counts – i.e. ( 30 cots x 4 months) + (24 cots x 8 months) divided by 12 counting periods = (120 + 192)/12 = 26 cots. Example 3: A hospital conducts a monthly bed count. Ward A containing 20 cots is closed for six months, for a planned renovation. During this period a temporary ward (B) containing 10 cots is established and the necessary resources are provided. The annual average number of available cots in Ward A is the average of the twelve counts, i.e. (20 cots X 6 months) + (0 cots X 6 months) divided by 12 counting periods = 10 cots. The annual average number of available cots for Ward B is (0 cots X 6 months) + (10 cots X 6 months) divided by 12 counting periods = 5 cots. Example 4: A hospital conducts a daily bed count. A ward containing 20 cots is closed during the first week of June because of a strike, but for the remainder of June it is fully staffed so that all 20 cots are available. So the average number of cots available for this ward in June is ((0 cots X 7 days) + (20 cots X 23 days) = 460/30 = 15.3. |