Publication, Part of Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity
Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity 2020-21
National statistics, Accredited official statistics
Impact of COVID-19
Background
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic began to have an impact late in the 2019-20 financial year.
The first official lockdown began on the 16th March 2020 and restrictions were gradually eased throughout the Summer.
A second national lockdown was implemented on the 5th November 2020 and lasted until the 2nd December 2020 when the tier system was implemented. Restrictions were relaxed over the Christmas period and England entered the third national lockdown on the 6th January 2021.
The following analysis shows the impact of COVID-19 and these restrictions on weekly admitted patient care activity throughout the year 2020-21.
COVID-19 Impact - Admission Episode Type
In 2019-20 prior to the first lockdown there were approx. 330,000 admissions per week (including almost 190,000 Ordinary Admissions and around 145,000 Day Cases on average).
By early April 2020 (during the first lockdown) weekly Ordinary Admissions fell by over 50 per cent, and weekly Day Cases fell by over 80 per cent compared to these previous averages.
COVID-19 - Impact - Admission Method
In 2019-20, of the approx. 330,000 admissions per week, around 170,000 were Elective Admissions, around 125,000 were Emergency Admissions and around 35,000 were ‘Other’ Admissions (predominantly maternity events and / or transfers into hospital from other agencies).
During the first lockdown Elective Admissions fell by a greater proportion than Emergency Admissions.
Last edited: 10 January 2023 2:41 pm