According to Statistics Norway, compared to other OECD countries, the number of hospital beds per capita in Norway is relatively small. In other Scandinavian countries it is also low. However, Norway currently has more beds than Sweden and Denmark.
In 2021, there were 3,4 hospital beds per thousand inhabitants in Norway, while the average in 2021 in countries OECD was 4,3 beds. This is shown by new data from -report OECD “Health at a Glance 2023”.
In most OECD countries, the number of hospital beds is decreasing in relation to the size of the population. The decline occurred faster in Norway, Sweden and Denmark than in other OECD countries. Currently, the OECD groups 36 countries, and the main one The OECD headquarters is located in Paris.
— In Norway, more and more patients are treated on an outpatient basis and are not admitted to hospital beds. Among other things, the development of medicine and technology means that the patient can return home on the same day. One example is peephole surgery rather than open surgery, says senior advisor Borgny Vold.
In this article, the term "hospital bed" includes XNUMX-hour places in a specialist health service. Most beds are located in somatic hospitals, but XNUMX-hour places in mental health, addiction treatment and rehabilitation clinics in specialized health services are also included.
Fewer beds, more residents
In 2021, there were approximately 18 hospital beds in Norway. Over the course of ten years, the number of beds was reduced by 400. At the same time, the population increased by nearly half a million inhabitants. Thus, within ten years the number of beds was reduced from 2200 to 4,2 per thousand inhabitants.
In most other OECD countries, the number of beds has also fallen over the last ten years. In Scandinavia, Norway has the largest number of hospital beds in relation to its population. Denmark has 2,5 hospital beds per thousand inhabitants and Sweden 2.
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Source: Statistics Norway
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