Doctors are often called upon to make input into planning for hospital bed numbers. Unknown to doctors the models behind forecasting bed numbers can be deliberately manipulated. It is often the case that future admissions and especially length of stay (LOS) will be manipulated down to give the appearance that fewer beds are needed [1–3]. For example, in England the decline in LOS has recently reached an asymptote and may even be starting to rise as higher numbers of elderly patients are admitted [1,2].
