Characteristics of the study secondary and tertiary hospitals
| Catchment area served | Secondary hospital | Tertiary hospital |
| 4800 people | 167 000 people | |
| Total number of beds | 260 | 500 |
| Total number of emergency department visits | 5914 | 19 317 |
| Number of psychiatric beds | 58* | 0 |
| Number of beds in the emergency room | 2 | 24 |
| Number of infectious diseases beds | 0 | 2 |
| Number of paediatric beds† | 0 | 20 |
| Proportion of the population aged 65 years and over in the city (%)36 | 25.0 | 26.1 |
| Unemployment rate in the city (%)36 | 2.9 | 3.6 |
*The secondary hospital is the only public institution for providing inpatient care for mental health in the area.
†The secondary hospital does not provide inpatient care for children due to the lack of paediatricians.