Background: Healthcare resources need to maintain pace with the increasing population and expectations. A hospital bed is a very important but limited healthcare resource. The analysis of various trends in bed utilization thus identifies the present problems as well as future contingencies in health care. It is thus recommended that bed utilization indices be used routinely to assess, analyze and improve the available resources. Aim and Objectives: The aims and objectives of this study were the analysis of various hospital bed utilization indices, with a view to improving utilization of this scarce resource. Material and methods:This was a 5 year retrospective study which was carried out in 750 bedded SMHS hospital,Srinagar,in which the data of various indices regarding hospital bed utilisation were collected from 2008-2012. Results: Our study found a very high value for all indices regarding hospital bed utilization. Conclusion: The study concludes that although various indices fall within the described optimal, there is yet a lot of reserve on the available resources particularly so far as a hospital bed is concerned. The study emphasizes the role of analysis and assessment of bed utilization indices with a view to improving utilization of this scarce resource.
