Bed Management Strategies in Hospital during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background In late 2022, China experienced a COVID-19 outbreak in which many infected individuals had to be hospitalized due to symptoms such as fever and body aches. This situation placed significant pressure on hospitals to effectively allocate their bed resources, leading to delays in hospital medical services. There was a clear shortage of general beds and intensive care unit (ICU) beds. Therefore, the rational allocation of bed resources to meet the admission needs of COVID-19 patients has become a pressing issue for hospital management. This study aimed to summarize the bed resource management model and experiences of a large hospital in China during the COVID-19 outbreak from December 2022 to February 2023. The goal was to provide a reference for the exploration of preventive and control strategies for future public health emergencies. Methods To describe the bed management strategies implemented at the hospital during the COVID-19 outbreak and evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies, we analysed indicators such as length of hospital stay and waiting time by using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Results From December 7, 2022, to February 7, 2023, the hospital experienced a rapid recovery after a decline in the bed occupancy rate, but the number of patients waiting for admission far exceeded the hospital's capacity. The implementation of the aforementioned measures led to a significant reduction in the waiting time for emergency department patients. The waiting time for outpatient department patients increased compared to that in the previous period, while the length of stay for patients admitted through the outpatient department decreased. On the other hand, the average length of stay for patients admitted through the emergency department slightly increased. Conclusion To improve bed turnover and availability, the hospital actively implemented measures to dynamically adjust the bed allocation plan and shorten the average waiting time in the emergency department and the average length of stay in the outpatient and emergency departments. This study provides valuable experiences and strategic references for future similar public health emergencies.