Eurostat

Hospital beds provide information on health care capacities, i.e. on the maximum number of patients who can be treated by hospitals. Curative care (or acute care) beds in hospitals are beds that are available for curative care. These beds are a subgroup of total hospital beds which are defined as all hospital beds which are regularly maintained and staffed and immediately available for the care of admitted patients; both occupied and unoccupied beds are covered. Hospitals are defined according to the classification of health care providers of the System of Health Accounts (SHA); all public and private hospitals should be covered.

Non-expenditure health care data provide information on institutions providing health care in countries, on resources used and on output produced in the framework of health care provision. Data on health care form a major element of public health information as they describe the capacities available for different types of health care provision as well as potential 'bottlenecks' observed. The quantity and quality of health care services provided and the work sharing established between the different institutions are a subject of ongoing debate in all countries. Sustainability - continuously providing the necessary monetary and personal resources needed - and meeting the challenges of ageing societies are the primary perspectives used when analysing and using the data. The output-related data ('activities') refer to contacts between patients and the health care system, and to the treatment thereby received. Data are available for hospital discharges of in-patients and day cases, average length of stay of in-patients and medical procedures performed in hospitals. Annual national and regional data are provided in absolute numbers and in population-standardised rates (per 100 000 inhabitants). Wherever applicable, the definitions and classifications of the System of Health Accounts (SHA) are followed, e.g. International Classification for Health Accounts - Providers of health care (ICHA-HP). For hospital discharges, the International Shortlist for Hospital Morbidity Tabulation (ISHMT) is used. Health care data on activities are largely based on administrative data sources in the countries. Therefore, they reflect the country-specific way of organising health care and may not always be completely comparable.

Non-expenditure health care data provide information on institutions providing health care in countries, on resources used and on output produced in the framework of health care provision. Data on health care form a major element of public health information as they describe the capacities available for different types of health care provision as well as potential 'bottlenecks' observed. The quantity and quality of health care services provided and the work sharing established between the different institutions are a subject of ongoing debate in all countries. Sustainability - continuously providing the necessary monetary and personal resources needed - and meeting the challenges of ageing societies are the primary perspectives used when analysing and using the data. The resource-related data refer to both human and technical resources, i.e. they relate to: - 'Health care staff': 'manpower' active in the health care sector (doctors, dentists, nurses, etc.); - 'Health care facilities': technical capacity dimensions (hospital beds, beds in nursing and residential care facilities, etc.). Annual national and regional data are provided in absolute numbers and in population-standardised rates (per 100 000 inhabitants). Wherever applicable, the definitions and classifications of the System of Health Accounts (SHA) are followed, e.g. International Classification for Health Accounts - Providers of health care (ICHA-HP). For hospital discharges, the International Shortlist for Hospital Morbidity Tabulation (ISHMT) is used. Health care data on resources are largely based on administrative data sources in the countries. Therefore, they reflect the country-specific way of organising health care and may not always be completely comparable.

Hospital beds provide information on health care capacities, i.e. on the maximum number of patients who can be treated by hospitals. Psychiatric care beds in hospitals are beds accommodating patients with mental health problems. These beds are a subgroup of total hospital beds which are defined as all hospital beds which are regularly maintained and staffed and immediately available for the care of admitted patients; both occupied and unoccupied beds are covered. Hospitals are defined according to the classification of health care providers of the System of Health Accounts (SHA); all public and private hospitals should be covered.