A surge in hospital emergency admissions for infants indicates weaknesses in community services for families, researchers say today.
In the last ten years, hospitals have experienced a 30% increase in emergency admissions of infants under the age of one and a 28% increase among those aged one to four, according to the joint report of the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation.
Researchers said paediatricians did not spend enough time in community settings while many GPs did not have enough knowledge of childhood illness.
Weaknesses in mental health services were also a factor, they said.
The researchers found admissions for jaundice doubled, from 8,186 to 16,491. Admissions for viral infections rose from 12,730 to 16,826 while those for digestive and feeding problems increase from 14,293 to 24,848.
Some 37,549 children were admitted for tonsillitis – and 80% of these could have been avoided, the researchers say. Admissions for epilepsy and asthma could also be reduced, they say.
But in-hospital mortality of these patients has fallen in the last decade, the report says, reducing from one death for every 1,274 admissions to one per 1,923 admissions.
Researcher Lucia Kossarova said: “As the NHS emerges from its toughest winter yet, much of the focus– perhaps understandably – has been on how hospitals have been coping with the rising numbers of older people needing emergency care. But this research reveals that many of the youngest members of society use emergency care in large and increasing numbers.
“While hospital is usually the right place for children and young people with serious urgent care needs, our study suggests that a proportion of these admissions could have been prevented by improving access to high quality paediatric or child health care closer to people’s homes.
There are many new initiatives around the country that provide possible solutions for how hospital emergency admissions for children and young people could be reduced.”
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