Multiple and All Emergency Admissions  

A steady rise in the number of emergency inpatient admissions has been a major source of pressure for the NHS over the past twenty years. Analysis contained within these pages has been developed to try to get a better understanding of the underlying trends in emergency admissions, and in particular multiple emergency admissions.

The publication of these analyses coincided with the establishment of a group to develop a National Framework for Service Change in the NHS in Scotland, published as the Kerr Report in May 2005. The ideas around emergency admissions and multiple emergency admissions became a key component of the drivers for change outlined in the Kerr report. One of the main issues outlined in the report is the growing importance of better management of chronic diseases or long-term conditions, in the older population in particular. Delivering for Health published in November 2005 outlined how the recommendations of the Kerr Report were to be implemented.

As can be seen in the tables and charts in these pages, the current situation is changing fast. In some areas long-standing upwards trends are levelling off. It is hoped that the multiple emergency admissions information contained within these pages will help produce a better understanding of current trends and the impact of policy initiatives.

The information available within these pages provide data on the number of patients with 1, 2 or 3+ emergency admissions within 1 year by age group for financial years ending March 1998 to 2007. Information shows numbers, rates and occupied bed days.

Multiple Emergency Admissions	All Emergency Admissions
NHS Board of Residence  [4.9Mb]	NHS Board of Residence  [3.3Mb]
Community Health Partnership [8.2Mb]	Community Health Partnership  [2.9Mb]
Age, Sex and Deprivation	Age, Sex and Deprivation
Notes on Interpretation

 

Information is also available at Community Health Partnership level (CHP). This is part of an ongoing workstream where ISD aim to provide useful, accessible and understandable information at CHP level. Further information on CHPs is available at http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/chp

Further background information surrounding trends in emergency admissions is also available via work previously carried out as part of the Whole Systems Project. One of the main products of the WSP was a working paper aimed at understanding why emergency admissions among older people have been rising so steadily. This is available at: www.isdscotland.org/whole_system_project