efficiency breeding inefficiency?

Abstract

Approximately 35 per cent of all admissions in the NHS in England are classified as emergency admissions, costing approximately £11 billion a year. Emergency admissions are costly and frequently preventable but every year more patients are being admitted in this way. This briefing paper examines the rise in emergency hospital admissions in England from 2004/05 to 2008/09 and tries to identify the possible explanations. Trends in emergency admissions in England 2004–2009: is greate