The table compares the number of physicians and hospital beds per 1000 people in different European nations, along with the average length of hospitalization in three separate years: 1980, 1990, and 2000.
Overall, all surveyed countries witnessed an inconsistent trend across every single category. France, in particular, showed not only the most substantial reduction in the number of physicians, but also the most significant rise in bed provision. Additionally, Sweden consistently emerged as the leading nation in terms of medical care with the highest figures for all examined aspects.
As for the leading nation, Sweden widened the gap between itself and the other nations regarding the number of physicians, with a net increase from 3.6 to 3.8 over time. Similarly, its dominance was more evident in the figure for hospital beds, which reached a peak of 6.9 in 2000 after hovering around its initial point of 6.4. Although the duration of stay in hospitals in this country decreased, it mounted a notable recovery to 21 days by the end of the period, securing the top position.
Turning to France, it reported the most pronounced disparity between its trends. While the number of physicians nearly halved from 2.4 in 1980 to 1.3 in 2000, that of hospital beds experienced an eightfold increase to reach 1.6 during the same period, and the average stay fell gradually by 2 days every 10 years, ending at just 5 days.
Finally, Australia also followed an inconsistent pattern. Whereas the number of doctors increased gradually, but to a lesser extent by 0.1 every 10 years to reach 1 in 2000, that of hospital beds recorded a more rapid upward momentum, rising from 1.4 to 3.7 throughout. In contrast, the average duration of stay in hospitals remained at its starting point of 18 days, despite the low of 6 days in the middle period.