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This FACT indicates the total number of beds per 1,000 people within each Australian state's hospitals. This FACT takes into account the number of hospital beds in public hospitals only.
While the term 'hospital bed' (a bed specifically designed for use in a hospital) can refer to the actual bed, the term 'bed' is also used to describe the amount of space in a health care facility. In other words, the capacity of a hospital is measured in the number of beds available for patients.
According to data collected by the AIHW in 2015-2016, the state with the most hospital beds per 1,000 people is the Northern Territory, at 2.90 beds per 1,000 persons. The state with the smallest number of hospital beds is Western Australia, at 2.27 beds per 1,000 people.