Why is this HEAT target important?
An emergency (ie unplanned) admission to hospital may be the right course of action for an older person who has a potentially serious or life threatening health problem that needs urgent specialist investigation or treatment in hospital. However for some older people an admission to hospital can be followed by complications such as a serious loss of confidence and confusion that prolong their stay, compromising their independence and ability to return home quickly. While rehabilitation can minimise this risk it is important to prevent avoidable emergency admissions wherever possible and to enable older people to return home as soon as is safe and practicable.
The target is framed to encourage the development of proactive community support; planning ahead to manage anticipated crises; earlier access to specialist assessment and treatment at home, in the accident and emergency unit or within hospital; and better co-ordination of health and social care support to enable a timely, safe and supported return home. The NHS and its community care partners, Local Authorities, are fully committed to this approach that is intended to ensure older people receive the best possible care whenever they need it.
How are we performing?
Target due for delivery in 2011/12
The target is to achieve a reduction of occupied emergency bed days, in acute specialties, for patients aged 75+ per 1000 population by 2011/12.
There was a 3 per cent decrease in the rate of occupied bed days for patients aged 75+ who were admitted in 2009/10 compared with the previous year, from 5,530 bed days per 1,000 population in 2008/09 to 5,385 in 2009/10.
Due to the ongoing issues relating to the supply of complete and comprehensive hospital activity data from a number of NHS Boards, ISD Scotland are currently unable to publish its detailed annual Acute Hospital Activity statistics for the year ending March 2011. Further updates regarding this situation will be reported when they are available.
The graph below shows emergency bed days for patients aged 75+ (per 1,000 population) since 2004/05.
NHS Board level performance is shown in the table below.
Occupied bed days per 1000 population (75+) by NHS Board, 2009/10
| NHS Board | 2009/10 | Target (due for delivery 2011/12) |
| NHS AYRSHIRE & ARRAN | 5,091 | 4,889 |
| NHS BORDERS | 6,112 | 5,734 |
| NHS DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY | 5,285 | 4,874 |
| NHS FIFE | 4,231 | 3,750 |
| NHS FORTH VALLEY | 4,052 | 4,006 |
| NHS GRAMPIAN | 5,031 | 4,628 |
| NHS GREATER GLASGOW & CLYDE | 6,256 | 6,277 |
| NHS HIGHLAND | 5,460 | 5,048 |
| NHS LANARKSHIRE | 5,068 | 4,718 |
| NHS LOTHIAN | 5,875 | 5,143 |
| NHS ORKNEY | 4,711 | 4,570 |
| NHS SHETLAND | 3,892 | 3,872 |
| NHS TAYSIDE | 4,927 | 4,681 |
| NHS WESTERN ISLES | 7,177 | 6,110 |
| NHSSCOTLAND | 5,385 | 5,070 |
Further Information
Multiple and Emergency Admissions statistics
Related National Outcomes