NHS England treats too many patients as an emergency, watchdog warns

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Hospitals in England are admitting so many patients as medical emergencies that the NHS’s finances and ability to function are under threat, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has warned.

But one in four of the growing number of mainly older people who end up in inpatient care should not be in hospital in the first place, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).

The ageing population and other unexplained factors mean hospitals are now treating 5.8 million patients as emergency admissions every year, 24% more than a decade ago, the NAO found. Together they cost the health service £13.7bn, almost a 10th of its budget, and account for 33.59m bed days.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/mar/02/nhs-england-too-many-patients-as-emergency-nao-warns
 
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