Australian Bureau of Statistics
Celebrating the International Year of Statistics 2013

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HOSPITALS

The number of private Acute and psychiatric hospitals across Australia remained at 279 in 2010-11, the same number as in 2008-09 and 2009-10, although there have been some small fluctuations in state totals in this time. More than half of the Australian private Acute and psychiatric hospitals are in New South Wales (31%) or Victoria (28%), with the balance in Queensland (19%), South Australia (11%), Western Australia (8%) and remainder of the states and territories (3%).

In the last 10 years, the number of private Acute and psychiatric hospitals across Australia has fallen to 279, from 299 in 2000-01, with the largest losses in Western Australia (7) and Victoria (6).

TABLE 2.1: PRIVATE ACUTE AND PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITALS, Australia—Selected years
	2000-01	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08(a)	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
New South Wales	87	85	85	na	85	87	86
Victoria	85	83	82	na	77	78	79
Queensland	54	56	57	na	54	53	54
South Australia	32	31	30	na	30	30	30
Western Australia	28	24	23	na	21	22	21
Tasmania, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory (b)	13	12	12	na	12	9	9
Australia	299	291	289	na	279	279	279
na not available (a) Data for the 2007–08 reference year are not available. See Explanatory Note 4 for further information. (b) Tasmania, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory have been aggregated to protect the confidentiality of the small number of hospitals in these states/territories.

Of Australia's 279 private Acute and psychiatric hospitals, 209 (74.9%) are located in a metropolitan area, and 183 (65.6%) are located within a Capital City Statistical Division.

There were 25,394 beds and chairs available in Acute and psychiatric hospitals during 2010-11, 1.9% higher than in 2009-10.

Capital City Statistical Divisions accounted for 74.7% of all available beds and chairs in Acute and psychiatric hospitals in Australia in 2010-11, slightly higher than in 2009-10 (74.5%) and up from 72.9% in 2000-01. Since the 2009-10 cycle, there has been an increase in the number of beds and chairs available in Capital City Statistical Divisions by 403 (2.2%), while the number of beds and chairs in the rest of Australia increased by 65 (1.0%). Since 2000-01, the number of beds and chairs in Capital City Statistical Divisions has increased by 6.3%, while the number in the rest of Australia has fallen by 3.0%, resulting in a net change of 3.8% across Australia.

Metropolitan areas contained 84.9% of all available beds and chairs in Acute and psychiatric hospitals, with Rural areas containing the remaining 15.1% of the beds and chairs in Australia in 2010-11.

In 2010-11, 1.6 million separations (57.8% of all Acute and psychiatric hospital separations) were for same day patients, with the remaining separations (almost 1.2 million) relating to overnight-stay patients. The proportion of all separations from Acute and psychiatric hospitals resulting from same-day patients has been increasing over the past 10 years, from 48.8% in 2000-01, to 57.2% in 2009-10, to 57.8% in 2010-11.

The average length of stay for overnight-stay patients increased to 5.3 days in 2010-11 from 5.1 days in 2009-10, while the average length of stay for all patients remained at 2.8 days. In 2000-01, overnight-stay patients stayed an average of 5.6 days, while the average length of stay for all patients was 3.3 days.

The bed occupancy rates in Acute and psychiatric hospitals have been increasing over the past 10 years. For 2010-11, the bed occupancy rate was 85.9% for all patients, compared with 83.3% in 2009-10 and 73.1% in 2000-01. The occupancy rate for overnight-stay patients was 68.4% in 2010-11, up from 66.2% in 2009-10 and 62.4% in 2000-01.

The number of full-time equivalent staff employed in Australia's Acute and psychiatric hospitals increased in 2010-11 to 55,053. This is up 3.1% from 2009-10, and up 23.1% from 2000-01.

Acute and psychiatric hospitals in Australia received a total income of $9,838 million during 2010-11, an increase of 8.8% over 2009-10. Total income is now 118% higher than in 2000-01, an average yearly increase of 8.1%. When income is adjusted to remove the effects of price changes over the period, the average annual increase over the ten years from 2000-01 ($6,089 million) to 2010-11 ($9,705 million) was 4.8%. For further information on the use of chain volume measures to adjust income and expenditure, see Explanatory Note 25. Patient revenue accounted for 95.5% of all income generated by Acute and psychiatric hospitals in 2010-11.

Recurrent expenditure for Acute and psychiatric hospitals for the 2010-11 cycle amounted to $8,949 million, a increase of 7.1% over the previous cycle. Recurrent expenditure is now 109% higher than in 2000-01, an average yearly increase of 7.6%. When recurrent expenditure is adjusted to remove the effects of price changes over the period, the average annual increase over the ten years from 2000-01 ($5,775 million) to 2010-11 ($8,828 million) was 4.3%.

Labour costs (including on-costs, such as employer contributions to superannuation and payroll tax) represented 50.6% of recurrent expenditure in 2010-11, compared to 51.6% in 2009-10 and 55.6% in 2000-01.

The average expenditure per patient day was $1,123 in 2010-11 compared with $1,102 in 2009-10 and $657 in 2000-01. When average expenditure per patient day is adjusted to remove the effects of price changes over the period, the average annual increase over the ten years from 2000-01 ($886) to 2010-11 ($1,108) was 2.3%.

TABLE 2.2: PRIVATE ACUTE AND PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITALS, Summary—2010–11
		2000-01	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08(a)	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
Hospitals (no.)
	Capital City Statistical Divisions	197	187	185	na	184	183	183
	Rest of Australia	102	104	104	na	95	96	96
	Total	299	291	289	na	279	279	279
	Metropolitan (b)	na	na	na	na	na	na	209
	Rural (b)	na	na	na	na	na	na	70
	Total	299	291	289	na	279	279	279
Beds/Chairs (no.) (c)
	Capital City Statistical Divisions	17 837	17 685	18 095	na	18 408	18 559	18 962
	Rest of Australia	6 628	6 428	6 332	na	6 277	6 367	6 432
	Total	24 465	24 113	24 427	na	24 685	24 926	25 394
	Metropolitan (b)	na	na	na	na	na	na	21 563
	Rural (b)	na	na	na	na	na	na	3 831
	Total	24 465	24 113	24 427	na	24 685	24 926	25 394
Separations ('000)
	Same-day patient	956	1 269	1 323	na	1 482	1 561	1 630
	Overnight-stay patient	1 003	1 076	1 096	na	1 118	1 170	1 192
	Total (d)	1 959	2 345	2 420	na	2 600	2 731	2 822
Patient days ('000)
	Same-day patient (e)	956	1 269	1 323	na	1 482	1 561	1 630
	Overnight-stay patient	5 569	5 624	5 714	na	5 892	6 019	6 336
	Total	6 526	6 893	7 037	na	7 374	7 580	7 966
Average length of stay (no.)
	Overnight-stay patients	5.6	5.2	5.2	na	5.3	5.1	5.3
	All patients	3.3	2.9	2.9	na	2.8	2.8	2.8
Bed occupancy rate (%) (f)
	Overnight-stay patients	62.4	63.9	64.1	na	65.4	66.2	68.4
	All patients	73.1	78.3	78.9	na	81.8	83.3	85.9
Full-time equivalent staff (no.) (g)		44 720	47 770	46 718	na	49 415	53 375	55 053
Income (h)
	Total ($'000)	4 517 550	6 591 077	7 082 477	na	8 353 310	9 043 615	9 837 799
	Patient income (%) (i)	92.7	95.6	96.2	na	95.1	96	95.5
Expenditure (j)
	Total ($'000)	4 284 272	6 159 509	6 581 711	na	7 631 728	8 354 222	8 948 902
	Labour costs, including on-costs (%)	55.6	51.8	51.7	na	51.4	51.6	50.6
	Per patient day ($)	657	894	935	na	1 035	1 102	1 123
Gross Capital expenditure ($'000) (k)		426 087	370 132	439 718	na	588 772	695 066	788 319
na not available (a) Data for the 2007–08 reference year are not available. See Explanatory Note 4 for further information. (b) Metropolitan and Rural are two classifications included in the new Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). See Glossary for further information. (c) Available beds/chairs (average for the year). (d) Figures have been rounded and discrepancies may occur between totals and the sums of the component items. (e) Same-day patients are counted as having a stay of one day. (f) Calculated by dividing patient days by the product of average number of beds and the number of days in the year and expressed as a percentage. See Glossary for further information. (g) Staff represented are typical full-time equivalent numbers for the year. Full-time equivalent represents the sum of full-time staff and full-time equivalent of part-time staff. Includes nursing staff contracted for supply of labour through agency. See Explanatory Note 40 for further information. (h) Income includes income from patients, recoveries and other income such as investment income and income from charities, bequests, meals and accommodation but excludes income payments from state and territory governments. See Glossary for further information. (i) Includes income received by, and due to, the hospital in respect of patient liability for accommodation and other fees. See Glossary for further information. (j) Expenditure refers to expenditure on goods and services, which does not result in the creation or acquisition of fixed assets (new or second-hand). See Glossary for further information. (k) Capital expenditure refers to expenditure in a period on the acquisition or enhancement of an asset (excluding financial assets). See Glossary for further information.

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