Mathematical Modelling of Inpatient Flow and Bed Allocation in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital

Abstract

Unnecessary delay on queues at hospitals and lack of access to care are associated to loss of lives. In this study we analyze the flow of inpatients in order to find out the appropriate number of beds needed to realize a smooth flow at points where congestion existed in a Nigerian university teaching hospital. Basic hospital statistics, like percentage occupancy, bed turnover rate, etc., are computed and we use queuing model to analyze patient flow and allocation of beds and demonstrate that patient flow in the hospital can be modeled using Erlang loss model.