Use of hospital beds by elderly patients in Oldham--implications for future hospital provision

Analysis of hospital bed use by elderly people in Oldham over a ten-year period shows an altering picture characterised by increase throughput and shorter length of stay. The change is occurring in geriatric and non-geriatric hospital departments to a similar degree without accumulation of long-stay patients. Oldham's community and residential resources are not unrepresentative and the department of geriatric medicine has a relatively small number of beds. Demographic extrapolation of future bed requirements from current practice is likely to over-estimate required bed numbers. The emphasis should be on placing the majority of (perhaps fewer) geriatric medical beds in general hospital settings. It is more important to plan improvement in bed use than increase overall bed provision.