Rise in number of UK hospital re-admissions
The number of patients being readmitted to hospital in an emergency with potentially preventable conditions has grown.
The figures are for the last seven years, according to The Nuffield Trust think tank.
They said in statement: "A major research programme from the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation looked at hospital data detailing patient diagnoses and the reasons behind emergency hospital readmissions between 2010/11 and 2016/17. The analysis aims to highlight where improved quality of care in hospital or the community might have prevented readmission.
"The analysis tracks a 19% rise in patients being readmitted to hospital in an emergency within 30 days of discharge between 2010/11 and 2016/17. Within this, the author identifies a 41.3% rise in emergency readmissions for conditions they classify as “potentially preventable”. These “potentially preventable” readmissions include patients with pneumonia, pressure sores and venous thromboembolism (VTE) and were conditions that patients were not diagnosed with when they were first admitted to hospital.
"According to the author, these findings should raise questions about the quality of care that our elderly population are receiving during their hospital stay, how they are discharged from hospital and the quality of community and social care services."
Published: by Radio NewsHub