Existing methods for calculating the number of beds in a hospital or specialist bed pool (maternity, paediatrics, ICU, SCBU, etc) are prone to error and bias.

HCAF have developed a method called "E-Plus for Beds" which is based on trends in occupied bed days. This method, which has been extensively validated over many years, gives enhanced accuracy and allocates the correct occupancy level based on the size of the bed pool. A further adaption of this method is used for the more complex needs of the medical bed pool (including Paediatrics) where seasonal variation is an important consideration.

All this is combined with expert knowledge of the very long term cycles in emergency demand which is the missing ingredient in advice given by others in this area. Refer to the emergency admission folder for more details.

HCAF offer a half day seminar to assist hospital managers and executives understand the issues behind bed allocation including average occupancy, the turn-over interval and the link between size, occupancy and bed availability for the next admission.

HCAF have recently discovered that the volatility associated with bed demand also follows long term cycles. This has important implications to understanding why it is more difficult to manage bed pools in particular years when apparent average occupancy looks to be the same.

Refer to the 'Emergency Admissions' folder regarding trends in emergency admissions.