Huge rise in A & E visits by OAPs

[Gromit]

// The number of elderly people being admitted to accident and emergency departments has soared to more than 1.2million a year, figures have revealed.

The numbers of over-80s taken to A&E has risen 37 per cent in two years, according to the Department of Health figures – from 913,785 in 2007/08 to more than 1,247,672 million in 2009/10. //

http://www.dailymail....m-figures-reveal.html

How do they cope when A&E Departments of full of drunken young people and immigrants?

[boxtops]

I don't think that's surprising - there are so many more active over-80s these days, is that proportionate?

[pa___ul3]

it's because daytime TV encourages hypochondria! ;)

[Postdog]

it's warm....

[rojash]

Well, I guess that those who were whining on another thread about ex-pat pensioners for "turning their backs on this country" should just be grateful to them for at least going some way to alleviate the pressure.

[jake-the-peg]

Lets look at that "surge".

That's a rise of 334,000 over a year or let's say 1000 per day, 918 more per day

There are 200 odd A&E units so we're looking at at a rise from about 12 a day to about 17 at an average hospital.

Significant?
(probably but the DM wouldn't know a standard deviation if it bit them on the bum!)

Threatening to their overall workload of 20 Million attendences? probably not!

[dzug2]

Why the need to bash immigrants? I wasn't aware that they were a particular burden on A&E. And I expect the drunken young people will be there at a different time of day to the OAPs anyway

Or are they the staff?

[Teddy_boy]

How many of the over 80s are drunken or immigrants i wonder? In the good old days before immigrants were here, over 80s died from rickets. Changed days.

[Sqad]

Forget standard deviations which may play a part in normal A&E' s, bit we are dealing with departments which are already overstretched.

The important part of this piece of reporting is that these are the over 80's and I would bet that the majority would be admitted into hospital and then difficult tomdiscah

[jno]

a rise from 12 to 17 a day is nearly 50%, which actually seems pretty significant to me, jake - and would probably seem more so if I were over 80, which I hope to be some day.

[Sqad]

Sorry..pressed the wrong knob.

Difficult to discharge, putting pressure on acute beds that standard deviations due NOT emphasise the added problem.

It is a mess....and £65 billion are going where?....the GP's

[jno]

tomdiscah?

[Eve]

People are living longer.

Don't forget the idiot factor clogging things up too! http://menmedia.co.uk...is-toilet-was-blocked

[Eve]

to discharge?

[Teddy_boy]

Over 30% of nhs professionals are immigrants. Few people realise that the NHS – was built with the help of immigrant workers and professionals from across the world. Thousands of doctors immigrated from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka during the 1950s, 60s and 70s, recruited by a health service afflicted by an acute post-war shortage of medical staff.

I think its just a lack of education on the subject, not a lack of intelligence to blame.

[jake-the-peg]

That's the point - without looking at variations over a number of years you have no idea whether this is significant or not.

Without looking at the overall admissions rates compared to planned for growth you don't know if there is a dangerous rise in admissions

Because this accounts for what 5% of admissions a much smaller drop in other areas such as road casualties may compensate for it.


This article is a single out-of-context statistic that just encourages people to draw their own clonclusions without sufficient fact

We don't even know if this is a rise in the number of falls, strokes, heart attacks or lightning strikes

[Teddy_boy]

Maybe they are just there for the heat and to watch the TV? As sensible as anything gromit said. More So perhaps?

[Gromit]

On a serious note.

Is this an early indication that the cuts are affecting the most vulnerable in society? Social Service Departments all over the country have had to make cuts, and the people they were looking after, the very old are neglected until an Hospital visit is necessary.
And does that highlight the false economy of the cuts?

[jno]

actually, I missed the point that this was over two years. So that's not the same sort of rise at all., and could be easily accounted for by more people slipping over during two cold winters.

[Teddy_boy]

No indication just random speculation on your part.