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Denmark ranks low globally in terms of hospital beds per capita

Didong Zhao
August 25th, 2022


This article is more than 2 years old.

Denmark was ranked in the bottom ten along with Sweden, the UK, Canada, Iceland and New Zealand

There are a limited number of beds in Danish hospitals it seems (photo: Pixabay)

According to a list of global medical conditions published by the British insurance company William Russell, Denmark ranks ninth from the bottom in terms of hospital beds per capita with 2.59 beds per 1,000 people.

The other countries in the bottom ten are Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile, Sweden, the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Iceland.

“Having enough hospital beds available is incredibly important as they allow patients to be properly admitted to a hospital ward where they can receive appropriate treatment and observation. They also allow patients to get proper rest following procedures, helping them to make a full and speedy recovery,” the report stated.

READ ALSO: Denmark has two of the world’s top 30 hospitals – ranking

A European trend
Japan, on the other hand, ranks first in the world with 12.84 hospital beds per 1,000 people. And Denmark’s neighbour Germany came in third with 7.91.

However, it is worth noting that the number of beds per capita has been in decline across the EU since 1990.

In Denmark, this figure has dropped from 8.6 beds per 1,000 people in 1975 to 2.59 beds per 1,000 people this year.

Indeed, a ranking from earlier this year had two Danish hospitals in the top 30 in the world – Aarhus University Hospital in 19th and Copenhagen’s Rigshospitalet in 26th.

In East Asia, the trend has gone in the opposite direction. In China, for instance, the number of beds per capita has reached 4.3.


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”