Background:
There were recurrent upsurges in demand for public hospital services in Hong Kong. An understanding of the contribution of some possible factors for the rise in health care burden would help to inform hospital management strategies.
Aim:
To evaluate the utilisation patterns of hospitalizations in medical wards among public acute hospitals in Hong Kong during surge periods.
Design:
Retrospective study.
Methods:
By extracting the information in press releases between 2014 and 2018, descriptive statistics about medical ward occupancy situation during six surge periods were generated. A time series model was constructed to estimate the occupancy rate at each hospital and assess its relationship with the intensity of seasonal influenza activity, extreme weather, day of week and long holidays.
Results:
There was a significant increase in the number of admissions to medical wards in all six surge periods. A significant variation in occupancy rate between weekdays and geographic regions was observed. The occupancy rate in 10, out of 15, hospitals was significantly associated with the influenza activity, while there was limited effect of weather on the occupancy rate. A significant holiday effect was observed during Christmas and Chinese New Year, resulting in a lower bed occupancy rate.
Conclusions:
A differential burden in public hospitals during surge periods was reported. Contingency bed and staff management shall be tailored to individual hospitals, given their differences in the determinants for inpatient bed occupancy.