Limited access to hospitalization in an Italian infectious disease ward

A four-year retrospective survey was carried out in our Infectious Disease ward, to point out discrepancies between immediately hospitalized patients, and those referred to us for admission, but needing transferal elsewhere, due to lack of a suitable hospital room.

Since the year 2000, 439 patients out of 1,979 needing hospitalization (28.5%), could not be admitted to our ward. After increasing the number of rooms in our Ward (June 2002, 16 to 35 beds), the described phenomenon decreased sharply, but a subsequent stabilization followed until July 2003, with around 13% of Infectious Disease patients sent elsewhere for hospitalization. Patients with severe, transmissible diseases were of particular concern, when the accepting Infectious Disease unit is located 40-120 Km far from our city. This was the case for nearly 25% of patients refused by our Hospital, since the year 2000.

Infectious Disease wards need a continuous fitting to economic, technical, human, and professional health care resources, on the ground of ever-changing predominant diseases and/or problems. A strict monitoring of hospital admission needs in the Infectious Disease setting is strongly needed, to improve care of managed patients in the Bologna metropolitan area in the future.