title: [Utilization of the National Hospital 1985-89. How many beds should there be in a new National Hospital?].
abstract: The Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget), has approved a proposal for construction of a new national hospital in Oslo. White Paper no. 38 (1987/88) proposes a hospital with 610 beds. The number of inpatient days at the present Rikshospitalet (The National Hospital) has declined by 19.4% during the period 1985 to 1989. In 1989 the use of inpatient services was equivalent to 530 beds with an occupancy rate of 80%. Based on an assumed further reduction in hospital use in the years to come, we estimate the need for beds to be 340 at the new national hospital. This lower number is assumed to cover local hospital functions (54 beds), regional hospital functions (220 beds) and national services (65 beds). The authors assert that the White Paper is based on outdated assumptions. The construction of a 610-bed national hospital involves a health care structure which could obstruct the reorganization of hospital care (more use of outpatient services) elsewhere in Norway. The County Councils responsible for financing hospitals will be forced to fund a hospital use that is motivated essentially by teaching and research rather than by caring for patients.
authors.affiliation: Regionsykehuset i Tromsø.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Søråsdekkan
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Schrøder
authors.forename: I S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Kristiansen
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Skarsvaag
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vetlesen
mesh_terms: D001509:Bed Occupancy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006745:Hospital Bed Capacity, 300 to 499 / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006752:Hospital Planning / Q000191:economics; D006773:Hospitals, Municipal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009664:Norway
vernacular_title: Bruk av Rikshospitalet 1985-89. Hvor mange senger bør det vaere i et nytt rikshospital?