Failing community care results in hospital stays for the elderly
AN INCREASING number of older people are being admitted to hospital for conditions which should have been dealt with at home due to failures in the care for people in the community, a charity has warned.
Age UK said the safety net for older people living at home is failing due to underfunding and a lack of workforce planning.
The charity has analysed NHS data on the number of emergency admissions to hospital in England for conditions such as ear, nose, kidney or throat infections or urinary tract infections and angina, among others, that could potentially have been avoided if the patient had been better managed by their GP or district nurse.
The charity found a sharp rise in such admissions among the elderly.
Since 2003/04, when records began, such admissions have risen among nearly all age groups apart from children under four.
But Age UK said that older people have seen the largest increases in admission rates with percentage changes of over 100 per cent for each of the different age brackets aged 65 and older in the 14 years since records started.
The charity found that these range from a 107 per cent increase for those aged 65-69 to 119 per cent among people aged 7579.
This compares to a 63 per cent increase overall in admissions for these acute conditions for England in the same period.
Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK, said: “The safety net for older people living at home has worn dangerously thin after years of underfunding and an absence of workforce planning across both health and care.”
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care responded by saying: “Patients should only be admitted to hospital when absolutely necessary, and we expect the NHS to work closely with local authorities and ensure people have a care plan in place when they are discharged.”