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Our hospital occupancy rates never get under 95% unless we also inlcude "ringfenced" beds into the mix as well... if we were to count daycase beds, beds at the non-acute elective site, maternity beds, ITU beds and paediatric beds into our 'empty' beds figures then I am sure our bed occupancy rate would reduce dramatically. But that would be figure massaging on a criminal scale.

If you are a 95 year old woman brought in to A&E in the middle of the night after a fall at home and you need to be accomodated and cared for on an acute elderly care ward then it really doesn't matter that we have 5 beds free at that point on our maternity ward. The thing about "beds" is that unless they are appropriately resourced and designated clinically for your particular care needs then they may as well be at your local Travel Lodge as in an acute hospital!

If anyone can show me a hospital with a bed occupancy of 85% across the acute medical and surgical bed base then I will glady dine out on my own hat!