The time that each patient spent in the unit before death or discharge. Do not include day case patients.
- All patients who are discharged (not died) on the day of admission should be classed as day patients, and they have a length of stay of 0.
- Patients who die on the day of admission have a length of stay of 1.

Length of stay is the number of nights spent in the unit, including home leave of up to 3 nights plus Saturday and Sunday.
Count the number of nights according to whether the patient was occupying a bed at midnight. However, if a patient dies on the day of admission, a length of stay of 1 day can be recorded.

The National Council for Palliative Care. MSD Data Manual. 2009.