Overcrowding in hospitals is a major problem across the world. In the
Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago, however, this situation is
deplorable and inhumane, affecting predominantly the sick, the elderly and
the poor. Through systematic empirical analysis, the hypothesis that
overcrowding would be resolved by increasing the number of beds was
tested at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH). Using two decades
of hospital utilisation reports, it was found that even when medical