A&E crisis ‘serious challenge’ to NHS finances

RISING NUMBERS of emergency admissions to hospitals are costing the NHS billions of pounds a year – but about a quarter are avoidable, says a report out today.

The National Audit Office (NAO) found that emergency admissions cost the health service £13.7bn in 2015-16 and posed a “serious challenge” to the financial position of the NHS.

Last year there were 5.8m admissions to A&E departments – of which 24 per cent were considered avoidable by NHS England. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, British Medical Association council chair, said while increased admissions were partly the result of an ageing population, cuts to social care budgets and a lack of community services meant more people were ending up in hospital.

He said: “It shouldn’t be like this. Patients are having trouble receiving the earlier treatment they need which is symptomatic of an entirely congested and underfunded health system.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that the health service doesn’t have the resource nor capacity to meet rising demand year-round. Without the necessary investment in staff and services the NHS will continue to struggle.

“Politicians must address the fact that if the NHS is to keep up with rising demand it requires a sustainable funding plan to provide the extra beds, staff and continuity of care patients need.”

The report estimates the realterms cost of emergency admissions rose by 2.2 per cent since 2013-14, while emergency admissions increased by seven per cent. In Yorkshire and Humber the growth in emergency admissions

over that period was 5.5 per cent. The NAO report found that overall emergency admissions grew by a quarter from 2007-08 to 2016-17. But the time spent in hospital was getting shorter, with some 79 per cent of the growth since 2013-14 caused by people who did not stay overnight.

The rise in emergency admissions of people aged 65 and over accounted for 12 per cent over the past four years.

The impact on hospitals of rising admissions could be seen with a 5.8 per cent drop in the number of available general and acute beds between 2010-11 and 2016-17, the report said.

The report also suggested some patients were being discharged without enough support after an increase in the numbers being readmitted to hospital.

It said Healthwatch England estimated emergency readmissions to have increased by 22.8 per cent between 2012-13 and 2016-17.

While the rate of growth in emergency admissions slowed slightly in 2016-17, there was only limited evidence that it was due to initiatives such as the Better Care Fund, which seeks to join up health and care services, and NHS England’s urgent and emergency care programme.

The report also warned NHS England may not have adequate data on emergency admissions, as the cause, severity, source of referral and diagnosis were not always accurately recorded.

NAO head Sir Amyas Morse said: “It is a problem for all of us that A&Es remain overloaded and a constant point of stress for patients and the NHS.”