Patients spend less time in the hospital

Length of stay of patients in hospitals decreases

26/12/2013

In Berlin, the length of stay of patients in hospitals has dropped again last year. The number of beds is decreasing.

Duration of stay has been falling for years
In the past year, the length of stay of patients in Berlin hospitals has again fallen slightly. According to Statistics Berlin-Brandenburg, patients were discharged after an average of 7.7 days. In 1991, the average was 19.9 days. Patients spend less and less time in the hospital for years. In 2001, the cut fell below 10 days for the first time (9.7). Since then he almost fell to 7.8 days in 2010 and 2011.

Number of beds almost halved
The number of beds has also decreased enormously since 1991, falling to almost half. At that time there were still 116 beds per 10,000 inhabitants available. Now there are only 60. At the same time, treatment cases increased from around 1,800 to about 2,300 per 10,000 inhabitants.

Private clinic operators are faltering
Nationwide there are about 2,000 hospitals with about 500,000 beds. According to the Federal Statistical Office, in 2012, 48 percent of the beds were in public hospitals, mostly operated by districts and cities. In beds of nonprofit institutions such as the churches or the Red Cross were 34 percent of patients. And 18 percent of beds are in hospitals owned by profit-driven hospital companies. Their share has been rising rapidly for years. According to the Federal Statistical Office, public latches from 2006 to 2011 reduced about seven percent of their beds, private clinicians increased by 20 percent. (Ad)

Image: Dieter Schütz