[Manpower resources and patient treatment at a regional hospital]

Significant increases in hospital budgets over the last few years have not resulted in a comparable increase in patient volume.

The increase in hospital admissions, surgical procedures and outpatient care from 1995 to 1999 at a large regional hospital was compared to the increase in hospital staff numbers over date same period.

While admissions were up 6.3%, surgical procedures 3.3% and outpatient consultations 6.7%, the overall increase in staff numbers was 12.0%. The number of physicians was up by 30.6%, that of nurses by 13.1%. Secretarial/administrative and technical staff numbers also increased significantly more than the patient population. The data showed that each group of health care workers had a significant overall decrease in productivity, defined as consultations/examinations per head. However, several departments broke this trend; they showed increases in productivity, i.e. that the increase in patient-related activities greatly increased the increase in staff numbers.

Further analysis of how departments that manage to increase productivity are organised and how they plan their activities could give information that would be of value to other departments and units. Hospital productivity and effectiveness are probably more related to management at the patient level that to superior top management or to the ownership structure of the hospital.