How to use this calculator
- Enter or choose inpatient days in the period.
- Enter or choose beds.
- Enter or choose days in the period.
- The bed occupancy rate updates as you type. Use Copy result or Share to keep it.
Method
Occupancy % = Inpatient days ÷ (Beds × Days in period) × 100; Average daily census = Inpatient days ÷ Days in period
- Inpatient days
- patient days counted in the period (one per patient per midnight census)
- Beds
- beds counted under your reporting definition
- Days in period
- calendar days in the period
Worked example
- Average daily census = 9,125 ÷ 365 = 25 patients.
- Available bed-days = 30 × 365 = 10,950.
- Occupancy = 9,125 ÷ 10,950 × 100 = 83.33%.
A 30-bed ward with 9,125 inpatient days in a year averages 25 patients a night, an occupancy rate of 83.33%.
What the result means
Occupancy close to or above 100% leaves no slack for emergency admissions and usually means patients waiting for beds. Very low occupancy points to beds that could be closed or redeployed. Read it alongside average length of stay.
Assumptions and limits
- Each inpatient day is counted once (usually at the midnight census).
- The bed count is constant through the period.
- Midnight-census figures miss day cases and same-day admissions and discharges, so daytime occupancy can be higher.
- Results differ depending on whether staffed, available or licensed beds are used.
Questions
Which bed count should I use?
Use the one your report asks for. Staffed or available beds show the pressure on the ward; licensed beds show the share of the hospital’s permitted capacity in use.
How do I get inpatient days?
Add up the number of inpatients counted at each midnight census in the period. Most patient administration systems report it directly.