Better care at the local level could have prevented more than 850,000 hospital admissions a year among the over-65s, a new study has found.
The charity Age UK has called for a ‘big shift’ towards joined up home- and community-based health and social care services for older people.
A report by the charity found that in 2021/22 there were 4.8 million A&E attendances by older people.
The rate of A&E attendances amongst over 80s also went up by 40% between 2012/13 and 2021/22, according to the research.
In 2019/20 alone there were 855,000 emergency admissions to hospital of older people which could have been avoided with better social care.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK, said: ‘At Age UK we are convinced the future lies in bringing health and social care services together locally, to provide better, earlier support for older people at home – but we won’t reap the rewards of this change of approach unless and until we also get a government prepared to grasp the nettle of rescuing and restoring social care – which is such a crucial component.’
If this article was of interest, then check out, 'Health & care transformation: What do we need to consider?'
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