Big variations in hospital stays

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There are big variations in the amount of time a patient remains in hospital following standard surgery in England, research suggests.

The study, by analysts Dr Foster, found differences of up to three weeks for hip replacement patients.

The longest in-patient stay for bowel surgery patients was 16 days longer than the shortest.

Ministers have been urging NHS trusts to cut the length of time patients stay in after surgery.

In hospitals with expertise in a particular surgical field, long recovery times may reflect the complex nature of the difficult cases they receive Jo WebberNHS Confederation

Last year the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) estimated that keeping NHS patients in hospital too long took up the equivalent of 13,000 beds a year and cost £1bn.

Dr Foster, which carried out the survey for Deltex Medical, found that patients needing a hip replacement at the United Bristol Healthcare Trust spent just 4.4 days in hospital on average.

In contrast, the average length of stay at West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust in South West London was 26 days.

For bowel surgery, patients at West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust spent 1.6 days in hospital on average, compared with an average of 27.9 days at the Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust.

Differences within regions

The research found significant variations even between hospitals in the same region.

For example, a bowel surgery patient in the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust in Redhill spends an average of 20 days in hospital.

In contrast, 20 miles away in Guildford, the average length of stay at the Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust is just 12.2 days.

Dr Andrew Webb is a consultant in critical care and medical director at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

He said: "What is striking about this information is that neither geographical location, the size of the hospital, the type of trust it is nor the number of patients they operate on seems to affect the length of stay."

Jo Webber, deputy policy director at the NHS Confederation, said: "NHS organisations will be interested in these findings.

"By learning from this research and from each other, trusts can help good practice spread through the system.

"Reducing length of stay will benefit both patients and finances.

"However, length of stay is only one measure of quality of care.

"In hospitals with expertise in a particular surgical field, long recovery times may reflect the complex nature of the difficult cases they receive."

The data was based on hospital stays for the year 2006/07 for bowel surgery, and 2005/06 for hip replacements.