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Data set notes

European Health for All database

Indicators: 565

Updated: 18 October 2024

Contact: Data and Digital Health Unit (DDH)

The following abbreviations are used in the indicator titles:

• SDR: age-standardized death rates (see HFA-DB user manual/Technical notes, page 13, for details)

• FTE: full-time equivalent

• PP: physical persons

• PPP$: purchasing power parities expressed in US $, an internationally comparable scale reflecting the relative domestic purchasing powers of currencies.

More information: http://www.euro.who.int/en/data-and-evidence/databases/european-health-for-all-database-hfa-db

Indicator notes

Average length of stay, acute care hospitals only
Indicator code: E992911.T

Same as WHO indicator no. 992901, except that only short-stay hospitals are taken into account (see also WHO indicator no. 992763).

Bed-days of newborns are excluded in the calculation.

For countries participating in the Joint Eurostat / OECD / WHO Europe data collection on health care activities (for year 2012 those were: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania,, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey and United Kingdom), following definition was used:

Hospital aggregates: Curative (acute) care

Curative care comprises health care contacts during which the principal intent is to relieve symptoms of illness or injury, to reduce the severity of an illness or injury, or to protect against exacerbation and/or complication of an illness or injury that could threaten life or normal function (HC.1 in the SHA classification).

Inclusion

- All components of curative care of illness (including both physical and mental/psychiatric illnesses) or treatment of injury

- Diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical procedures

- Obstetric services

Exclusion

- Other functions of care (such as rehabilitative care, long-term care and palliative care)\"

Data are collected for:

c) Curative (acute) care average length of stay (ALOS): See definitions of hospital ALOS and curative care._

Country/Area notes

Albania

Ministry of Health.

Armenia

Source of data: National Health Information Analytic Center, Ministry of Health of the Republic of
Armenia http://moh.am/?section=static_pages/index&id=625&subID=824,29.
Data collected annually, reference period: 31 December.

Austria

See indicator 992952.

Belgium

Source: Federal Public Service of Public Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment. Health Care
Facilities Organization (DG1), Minimal Clinical Data. 2007: provisional data.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Public Health Institute of Federation of B&H; Department for Health Statistics and Informatics
Public Health Institute of Republic of Srpska- Department for Social medicine, with Health
Organization and Health Economics. Law on health evidence and statistical research in health. Annual
report of hospitals.
Department for Health of Brcko District

Cyprus

Up to the year 1985 data refer to general hospitals only (public sector). From 1986 onwards, data
refer to public sector general and rural hospitals.

Czechia

Source: Institute of Health Information and Statistics of CR (IHIS CR). Survey on bed resources of
health establishments and their exploitation. Coverage: Data relates to all in-patient care in
University hospitals and Acute care hospitals.
Deviation from the definition: Hospitalized newborns are included.
Break in time series: Until 1999 data covers only establishments of the Health Sector. From 2000
data covers also health establishments of other central organs.

Denmark

ALOS in somatic hospitals with an average length of stay of 18 days or less
Source: Ministry of Health.

Estonia

Source: annual reporting, National Institute for Health Development.

Finland

Source: Hospital Discharge Register, THL (National Institute for Health and Welfare).

France

Source: DGOS DREES PMSI-SAE

Georgia

Source: National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health of Georgia (NCDC) (http://www.ncdc.ge)

Germany

Data provided according to required definition. Data refer to ALOS in general hospitals. Mental
health hospitals, prevention and rehabilitation homes and long-term nursing care facilities are
excluded. ALOS is calculated by dividing the bed-days by the \number of cases\". The \"number of
cases\" is equal to the sum of admissions plus the discharges including deaths divided by 2. As of
reporting year 2002 the number of acute admissions and discharges includes day cases (patients
admitted for a medical procedure or surgery in the morning and released before the evening). Source:
Federal Statistical Office

Hungary

Source until 2003: Center for Health Care Information (GYOGYINFOK). The data is average length of
stay at the acute care departments. Source from 2004: National Institute for Strategic Health
Research (ESKI) and the data is the average length of stay at the acute care hospitals.

Iceland

The same hospitals as in indicator 992760 and 992962. Newborns (Z38) are excluded from 2008 and
onwards. Source: The Directorate of Health / The Ministry of Health and Social Security.

Break in series in 2008 due to the fact that data in the National Patient Discharge Register has
been updated /corrected.

Until 2008 newborns (Z38) have been included. This will be corrected next year along with other
corrections.

Ireland

Source: Health Service Executive. Data prior to 2006 comes from the Department of Health and
Children. From 1997 the ALOS for acute care refers to all HSE Network acute hospitals with an ALOS
of less than 18. Beds in private hospitals are not included. Up to and including 1996, figures refer
to in-patient beds in acute hospitals where the average length of stay is 18 days or less. From
1980-1986 short-stay district hospitals are included

Israel

Includes all acute care hospitalizations. Source: Department of Health Information, Ministry of
Health

Italy

Source: Ministry of Health. Data are referred to hospitals under indicator 992763.

Latvia

Acute care hospital beds (instead of hospitals) are included, i.e. hospital beds excluding beds for
rehabilitation, tuberculosis, psychiatry, mental care for alcohol and drug abusers, short-term
social care, geriatrics, palliative care and care for chronic patients.

Lithuania

Source: Up to 2000: LHIC annual report data. From 2001: HI HIC data from annual reports and
Compulsory Health Insurance Database (for day cases). Coverage: No clear separation for short and
long-stay hospitals or beds. In calculations: long-term care beds were tuberculosis, psychiatric,
narcology, nursing, and rehabilitation beds. All other beds were acute care beds. Up to 2000:
including day cases. From 2001: excluding day cases.

Malta

Figures relate to the main acute public hospital. Source: Patient Administration System (PAS)- ADT
Module (Admissions Discharges and Transfers)

Montenegro

Data are for discharges (Stationary medical centres are included).

Netherlands

Breaks in series: 2002 and later includes healthy new born infants if mother was inpatient. Source
for 2006 and later is annual reports, Social Accounting and National Medical Registration. Bed-days
of newborns are excluded in the calculation. Statistics Netherlands: Statistics of intramural health
care.

North Macedonia

Source: Institute for Public Health (IPH).

Portugal

Source of data: National Statistical Institute Coverage: National

Serbia

Source: Institute of Public Health of Serbia.

Slovakia

Calculation includes hospitals of acute care except special departments designated for psychiatric
care, long-term care and rehabilitation.

Slovenia

Institute of Public Health of the Republic of Slovenia, Ljubljana 1996.

Spain

Total number of occupied hospital bed-days produced in acute care hospitals / total number of
discharges produced in acute care hospitals. In this statistics acute care hospitals means general
hospitals+especial hospitals with short-stay. Source to 1996: National Statistics Institute and
Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs. Statistics on Health Establishments Providing Inpatient
Care. Source from 1996: Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs (www.msc.es/).

Sweden

Source: National Patient Register NBHW.

Switzerland

Computation according to ALOS. Source of data: FSO Federal Statistical Office, Neuchatel; Hospitals
Statistics; yearly census.
Coverage: Full coverage of hospitals.
Deviation from the definition: -
Estimation method: -
Break in time series: -

Türkiye

Source: General Directorate of Curative Services. Method: Does not include average length of stay in
mental health hopsitals, physical treatment and rehabilitation hopsitals.

Turkmenistan

Source of data: Administrative medical statistics, form 14 ?Report on hospital activity?.

Ukraine

For hospitals under Ministry of Health only.
Source: Centre of Health Statistics, Ministry of Health

United Kingdom

Source of Data: England - NHS Information Centre.
Scotland - NHS National Services Scotland, Information Services Division (ISD).
Wales - NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS), Patient Episode Database.
N. Ireland - Department for Health, Social Services and Public Safety, HIS.

Coverage: Data is for inpatients only and excludes day patients. Data is for NHS activity or NHS
commissioned activity in the independent sector. Data refers to patients in all hospitals treated
under an acute specialism

Deviation from the Definition: None
Estimation Method: Scotland could not provide 2010 data due to data completeness issues and so this
figure has been estimated using 2009 data for Scotland. This figure will be revised when 2010 data
for Scotland is available.

Break in Time Series: Data from 2000 onwards is not comparable with data from prior to this. This
is due to work conducted to improve compliance with definitions and consistency of methodologies
across the four parts of the UK
2010 - All data is financial year data with the exception of Scotland whose data is calendar year.