The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital functioning and mortality among non-COVID-19 patients

Introduction: The pandemic resulted in significant changes in the work organization within medical facilities, mainly hospitals, which were handling the largest numbers of people infected with SARS-CoV-2. The objective of the study was to analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the functioning of Antoni Jurasz University Hospital No. 1 in Bydgoszcz as a whole, as well as consider individual departments. Material and methods: The data were acquired from the database of Antoni Jurasz University Hospital No. 1 in Bydgoszcz and included: the average length of hospitalization, number of hospitalizations, and number of deaths, as well as COVID-19 status. Information was collected for each month in the 2020–2021 period with a distinction between specific departments. Results: The highest percentage of COVID-19 hospitalizations as well as the highest percentage of COVID-19 deaths were noted from October 2020 to May/June 2020 and in November and December 2021. Correlations between new monthly COVID-19 cases in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and several parameters (average length of hospitalization, total number of hospitalizations, mortality among non-COVID-19 patients) have been established for selected departments. Conclusions: The analysis of the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic in Antoni Jurasz University Hospital No. 1 in Bydgoszcz, Poland, found in selected departments a significantly increased in-hospital mortality, decreased number of hospitalizations, and decreased length of stay. Departments exhibiting an opposite impact of the pandemic on the average length of hospitalization were identified.