Press office

We are England's central authoritative source of health and social care information.

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Latest news

18 November 2009

Admissions from A&E peak ahead of Government's four-hour wait deadline, new figures show

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The speed at which patients are dealt with by their local A&E department in England varies markedly according to where they live, says a report out today from The NHS Information Centre.

The study shows that three quarters of patients in A&E are seen and treated or admitted within three hours – considerably quicker than the Government's four-hour target. However, the number of patients leaving A&E per minute increases as the four-hour deadline approaches, with a marked peak in the ten minutes before the deadline when six per cent of all attendances nationally are dealt with.

But there is a wide local variation – ranging from virtually zero to fifteen per cent - in the percentage of patients dealt with in the last ten minutes before the deadline is up. An interactive tool released by The NHS Information Centre enables providers' local data to be compared.

Recent News

November 10 2009

Flu hits working age adults harder as hospitals see the number of beds taken up by sufferers increase

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The latest flu epidemic is hitting working age adults harder, as hospitals see a near 20-fold increase in the total number of bed days taken up by sufferers, new figures from The NHS Information Centre reveal.

Figures for July 2009 show the number of bed days taken up by flu increased to 3,976 – nearly 20 times higher than the same month in 2008 when the number of bed days taken up by the virus stood at 207. The preceding months, June and May, also saw increases over 2008 in the number of bed days taken up by flu, at 335 (118 percent) and 113 (26 percent) respectively.

The figures also show that the pattern of bed days occupied by different age groups appears to be changing from 2008. Whereas in the three months to July 2008, 40 percent of bed days were taken up by the very young (16 or under), this reduced to 31 percent in same period in 2009.

Bed days occupied by those aged 60 or over accounted for 40 percent of the total in 2008 but only 22 percent in 2009. Working age adults (those aged 17 to 59) showed the biggest change in percentage; in the three month to July 2008 they represented 19 percent of all bed days, increasing to 46 percent during the same period in 2009.

28 October 2009

Steep rise in hospital admissions for obesity in England, but fall in admissions for assault by a sharp object

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Hospital admissions for obesity in England have risen by 60 per cent in the last year and by 360 per cent compared to five years ago according to figures released today by The NHS Information Centre.

However, admissions for assaults by a sharp object fell for the second year running, as did admissions for injuries from a firearm.

Hospital Episodes Statistics Admitted Patient Care, England 2008/09; shows there were 8,085 admissions for obesity in 2008/09; a 60 per cent rise on 2007/08 (5,056) and a 360 per cent rise since 2003/04 (1,746).

In 2008/09 there were 4,914 admissions for assaults by a sharp object; a six per cent decrease from 2007/08 (5,239) but a three per cent increase since 2003/04 (4,774).

There were 1,120 admissions for injuries from a firearm in 2008/09; a five per cent decrease from 2007/08 (1,181) and an 18 per cent decrease since 2003/04 (1,370).