Surge in the over-90s being taken to A&E
80% increase is blamed on failure of care in the home
THE number of patients aged over 90 having to be taken to A&E by ambulance has soared by 80 per cent in just three years.
Some 300,370 were brought in to hospital accident and emergency units last year, up from 165,910 in 2009/10.
MPs and campaigners say cuts to social care budgets and failures by GP services mean the elderly are not being properly looked after at home.
A lack of home help and inadequate monitoring by doctors, practice nurses and – in some cases – families has left them prone to falls, fractures, infections and sudden problems with longterm complaints such as heart failure.
Figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that overall, 21.7million people attended A&E last year, up from 21.5million in 2011/12.
But the increase was starkest among the over-90s brought in by ambulance, up from 275,883 in 2011/12 to 300,370 last year. There is concern that many are having to wait in ambulances outside A&E because hospital staff are too busy to attend to them immediately.
Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said: ‘The Government’s severe cuts to social care have left thousands of older people without the support they need, at risk of going into hospital and getting trapped there.’
However, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has pledged to bring back the traditional role of family doctor overseeing the care of elderly patients round the clock to stop them ending up in A&E.
In an article for the Mail in November, he promised to give the over-75s a named GP familiar with their conditions. He said: ‘Our priority has
‘The system remains fragile’
been the over-75s. This is because around two thirds of over-75s are living with a long-term condition such as diabetes, asthma, or dementia.
‘This can lead to preventable problems in A&E.
‘One third of A&E visits are from over-75s, for example.
‘Many of these would be avoided if there was proper GP care in the evenings and weekends. A&E staff don’t always know their underlying conditions or circumstances, or even where to discharge them to.’
He added yesterday: ‘Labour’s disastrous 2004 GP contract left many vulnerable elderly patients without good out-of-hours care, so it’s rank hypocrisy for them now to complain about the consequences of their historic mistake.
‘We have ripped up that contract and are bringing back proper family doctoring, with named GPs for older people to help relieve A& E pressures.’
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: ‘In some cases being admitted to hospital is the consequence of not getting goodquality care at home. The core of the problem is that funding for social care has failed and is still failing to keep up with growing demand.
‘The care of our most vulnerable must be a priority.”
Consultants had feared this winter would be one of the worst on record for A&E units facing a shortage of doctors and a steady rise in patients. But most departments have been far less busy than anticipated, partly due to mild weather and low levels of flu and the norovirus stomach bug.
However, Dr Cliff Mann, president of the College of Emergency Medicine, warned that ‘ the system remains fragile’.
He said: ‘That is why we are working with NHS England and the Government to deliver . . . efficient longterm solutions.’
The figures also show that patients aged 20 to 24 are more likely to go to A&E than other groups – which campaigners say is because they are more assertive and expect to be treated immediately.
They comprise 8.6 per cent of all attendances, compared with the 50 to 54 age group, for example, who make up 5 per cent, and the 70 to 74 group at 3.5 per cent.
Roger Goss, of Patient Concern, said: ‘This is the demanding generation who want a cure now. They are more pushy. They may also be far more familiar with A&E units than they are with GP out-of-hours services or walk-in centres.’ He added: ‘If only the elderly were more pushy.’