- 26 July 2019
- 4 min read
41% of emergency hospital admissions from care homes ‘could be avoided’
SubscribeThe NHS in England is trying to reduce pressure on hospitals by cutting emergency admissions.

Hospital demand from care homes could be reduced
More than four in 10 emergency hospital admissions from care homes could be avoided, experts have said.
NHS researchers found that 41% of emergency admissions were for potentially avoidable conditions such as chest infections, pressure sores and urinary tract infections that could be treated in the community, or were a result of poor care or neglect.
The NHS in England is trying to reduce pressure on hospitals by cutting emergency admissions but also says elderly people would prefer not to go to hospital, with long stays leading to loss of muscle mass and independence.
Better community care would reduce hospital care demand
A new briefing from the Improvement Analytics Unit, a joint initiative between NHS England and the Health Foundation, said that if people were looked after better in the community, they would need fewer trips to hospital.
The researchers found that one in 12 emergency admissions to hospital was for people living in a care home – an estimated 192,000 each year.
This represents 7.9% of emergency admissions.
Read more
• Why switching your nursing career from the NHS to a nursing home is worth considering
• How to progress your career as a care home nurse
A&E attendances from care homes reach 269,000 per year – 6.5% of all attendances for those aged 65 and over.
An estimated 340,000 older people in England live in residential or nursing care homes, including one in seven over-85s.
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