Inpatient care soars due to ageing population

Latest figures show that there were 15.9 million admissions to NHS hospitals in England in 2014-15 – the equivalent of 43,500 per day. This is 1,200 more per day on average than in 2013-145 and 10,400 more per day on average than 10 years ago in 2004-055.

The report Hospital Episode Statistics, Admitted Patient Care, England – 2014-15, from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), includes national and regional statistics on admissions relating to time waited, diagnosis and procedure, consultant main speciality and external cause codes.

The latest analysis shows an increase of 2.8% (430,400) in hospital admissions from 2013-14 (15.5 million) and an increase of 31.3% (3.8 million) in hospital admissions from 2004-05 (12.1 million).

Over the same time period the population has grown, although at a lower rate than hospital admissions. The rate of admissions in 2014-15 was 29,260 per 100,000 population, compared to 24,110 admissions per 100,000 population in 2004-05. This may be partly attributable to the increased proportion of older people in the population.

Statistic on admitted patient care in 2014-15 show that:
•The greatest number of admissions by age band was for patients aged 65 to 69 (1.3 million).
•The greatest increase in the number of admissions was for patients aged 70 to 74, up 5.9% (68,100) since 2013-14 to 1.2 million in 2014-15.
•The average length of stay has decreased to 5.0 days from 5.1 in 2013-14, and has been steadily decreasing since 2004/05 (7.1 days).
•Female patients accounted for 56.0% of admissions (8.9 million).
•Regionally, Durham, Darlington and Tees Area Team (AT)11 had the highest rate of admissions at 350 per 1,000 residents (409,600 admissions). Thames Valley AT had the lowest rate of admissions per population at 250 per 1,000 residents (509,300 admissions).