Statistical Analysis
Continuous variables were described using means (±standard deviation) for normally distributed data and medians (±interquartile range) for non-parametric data. Categorical variables were described as absolute numbers and percentage frequencies. As length of stay data, and therefore also bed day usage across groups, was non-normally distributed, all analyses relating to these were treated as non-parametric and tested using a Mann-Whitney U. Categorical variables were tested using the Fisher Exact test.
Data was analysed using the StatsDirectTM software package version 3.