Length of stay for common surgical procedures: variation among districts.

Lengths of stay for appendicectomy, inguinal hernia repair and cholecystectomy for the 16 districts in the Northern Regional Health Authority (NRHA) and 15 districts in the South East Thames Regional Health Authority (SETRHA) are examined using data recorded in the Hospital Activity Analysis. Considerable variations exist among districts, with the three longest stay districts for each procedure in NRHA having an age-adjusted length of stay of 113 per cent of the regional average for appendicectomy, 125 per cent for hernia and 115 per cent for cholecystectomy. This resulted in greater than 2000 additional bed days per year being occupied in the three longest stay districts in the NRHA compared with the regional average. The age adjusted length of stay for the three shortest stay districts for each procedure is 83 per cent of the regional average for appendicectomy, 75 per cent for hernia and 85 per cent for cholecystectomy. Similar differences are seen in the SETRHA, and derive from differences in the length of both preoperative and postoperative stay. Explanations for the observed variations are considered in terms of population, organizational and clinical variables.