High bed occupancy rates in hospitals denote inferior quality of care

High bed occupancy rates in hospitals denote inferior quality of care

Dr KK Aggarwal

Padma Shri Awardee

When patients choose a hospital for treatment, they usually judge a hospital by its location, the infrastructure, the amenities and services it provides, quality of care and cost of care.

Bed occupancy rate is an indicator of hospital utilization. It is a measurement of efficiency and effectiveness of a hospital. Bed occupancy rate of a hospital varies at any given point of time. While a ‘full house’ would perhaps appear to be most satisfying, it is not actually so, especially for a hospital.

According to the Australian Medical Association, Irish Medical Organisation, Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and NHS England, a bed occupancy rate above 85% or ‘overcrowding’ is considered to have an adverse effect on patient safety and the operational efficiency of the hospital.

High bed occupancy rate increases the risk of spread of hospital-acquired infections such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile via cross transmission. Such hospitals also run the risk of bed shortages when they are most needed, such as during outbreaks, or disasters. 

Overcrowding means not enough beds for patients from emergency department. A long waiting time for transfer to the appropriate inpatient bed increases mortality and chances of adverse events.

Overcrowding compromises quality of care. Medications may not be administered in time; the chances and frequency of errors increase as well.

Hospitals, in particular Govt. hospitals, have a policy of not denying admission to any patient, even if this means allotting the same hospital bed to two inpatients, or sometimes even three in pediatric wards. The outcome is an inferior quality of care, at the same time, it also creates an impression that we can manage even with inadequate infrastructure and resources available to us.

No hospital, whether Govt. or private, should have more than 85% bed occupancy rate.  Admitting 150 patients in a 100-bedded hospital is not correct. This means that for 50 extra patients, you are compromising care of 100 patients as resources are shared for a much larger number of patients than meant for.

This would also be applicable to govt. hospitals, if they over admit patients in view of the recent govt. notification, which makes it mandatory for all clinical establishments, chemists/pharmacists to notify every case of TB or else face penal provisions under sections 269 and 270 of the Indian Penal Code

Annual HCFI Awards 2017 presented under various categories for noteworthy contribution in the field of healthcare

·         Schools who took part in the Perfect Health Mela were also recognized

·         All present at the event trained in first aid and hands-only CPR 10

New Delhi, 09 November 2017: The Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI), a leading National NGO committed to making India a healthier and disease-free nation, organized the annual HCFI Awards 2017 on 9^th November 2017. These awards are given to eminent personalities for their selfless contribution in promoting healthcare in the country. The award ceremony was followed by a felicitation of the schools that participated in the recently concluded Perfect Health Mela 2017.

The event also featured the launch of a video on the HCFI - ONGC Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan. ONGC has taken its Swacch Bharat Abhiyan to many parts of the country already. The public health awareness video prepared in collaboration with HCFI highlighted the intrinsic relationship between a clean environment and a healthy nation. Padma Shri Awardee Dr KK Aggarwal, National President IMA and President HCFI chaired the event in the presence of other distinguished guests. Those present were also trained in the life-saving technique of hands-only CPR 10 and first aid.

Delivering the welcome address, Padma Shri Awardee Dr K K Aggarwal, National President Indian Medical Association (IMA) and President Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI), said, “It was heartening to see the immense participation by schools at the Perfect Health Mela this year. We are happy to felicitate them for doing their bit towards healthcare and ensuring that they participate in the larger good of the community by creating awareness. I congratulate those who are receiving the awards today for their outstanding and selfless contribution to healthcare in the country. These awards will set an example for others in the field to work better and ensure that they create relevant awareness through their activities. Each one of us has a responsibility towards the environment, which will further translate into good health. Every citizen of the country must be ‘health aware’ and make efforts to be disease free and promote best practices. Preventive measures towards health must start right at a young age.”

More than 20 schools participated this year in various competitions and events in the Perfect Health Mela. This is a one-of-its-kind event organized by the HCFI every year to create awareness on health through competitions, campaigns, health check camps, and workshops. IMA is the knowledge partner for this event.

Accepting the HCFI awards for their contribution, Shri Rajesh Mittal and Ms Kamaleshwari, said, “We are very happy to receive this award today. However, we are happier to see a body like HCFI recognizing our contribution to healthcare. This award is not only an encouragement for us to work more in this direction but will also serve as an example for many others to follow suit and work towards improving healthcare outcomes in the country, in their own way.”

The workshop on first aid and hands-only CPR 10 aimed at educating people on the need to be aware of these basic techniques. First aid is a priority at any cost. By learning the technique of CPR 10, one can revive victims of sudden death within 10 minutes. Sudden death may include heart attack, electrocution deaths, hypothermia deaths, deaths due to choking, drowning deaths and other deaths, which occur suddenly without notice. Dr Aggarwal added that it is unfortunate that in our country, medical personnel cannot reach the victim early. It is, therefore, imperative for every citizen of the country to be trained in basic first aid including cardiac first aid to victims.

Giving the vote of thanks, Dr RN Tandon – Honorary Secretary General IMA, said, “The IMA has always supported any effort aimed at ensuring universal access to healthcare and creating awareness on health issues. This event is no different and I congratulate all the winners. I also thank all those present here for having attended the event and helping us take the agenda of ensuring health for all, a step further.”

HCFI awards were presented under the following categories to the following people.

·         HCFI K L Chopra Media Award for the best health news reporting for the year

Shri Durgesh Nandan and Ms Payal Banerjee

·         HCFI K L Chopra Lifetime Achievement Media award

Shri Rajesh Mittal, Shri Mukesh Aggarwal, Shri Alok Mohan Nayak

·         HCFI Dr Rakesh Gupta Excellence Award for the best philanthropic contribution in

the field of a community health project 

Dr Mridula Pandey, Dr Arun Gupta (Sacchi Saheli), Dr Swati Bhave

·         HCFI Abheeta Khanna Lifetime Achievement Award for exemplary contribution in the

field of PR and Journalism 

Shri Veerendra Verma and Ms Ratan Kaul

·         HCFI Anil Jaju Excellence Award for the best project in the field of health awareness

during the last one year by an NGO

Indian Medical Association

·         HCFI Qimat Rai Aggarwal Excellence Award for contribution in the field of preventive health and environment preservation in the last one year

Shri P K Bajaj and Dr Akshat Wahal

·         HCFI Dr Vijay Aggarwal Excellence Award for contributionto the society

Ms Kamaleshwari

·         HCFI Dr K K Aggarwal Running Trophy for contribution to the field of health in the last one year

Ms Paavani Gupta and Ms Santosh Kumari

·         HCFI Performer of the Year Award will be presented to the best performer from the

HCFI Family

Shri Ram Singh

·         HCFI Lifetime Achievement Award

Shri D K Gupta, Dr U Kakroo and Shri K. Sareen

·         HCFI Perfect Health Mela Special Award

·         Ms Geeta Anand, Ms Aruna Tyagi, Shri Yogesh Jaju, Shri Yogesh Pant, and Dr Prachi Garg