Ageing and rising population puts the strain on hospitals

Published on Thursday 9 April 2009 10:05

AN ageing and increasing population has led to a huge rise in Lothians hospital admissions.

New figures show that in the last four years an additional 82 patients a day have attended at hospital for a range of treatments. This is despite medical advances and a range of initiatives to get people out of hospitals.

The availability of treatments for diseases and problems previously deemed untreatable could also be behind the rise, experts said.

The statistics released by ISD Scotland show that last year there were 150,000 admissions. This is 30,000 more than in 2004 and, while a recent baby boom and influx of Eastern European migrant workers explains the statistic a little, it is understood it is the increasing ageing population, and more specifically those reaching 85 and over, who are causing the upturn.

Prof John MacInnes, from Edinburgh University's school of social and political science, said there were other reasons for the rise.

"What drives trends in things like this is the amount of demand reflects the treatment available. It becomes possible to treat conditions that were never treatable before, meaning more people would go in the hospital at certain stages who maybe wouldn't have in the past," he said.

Demographic statistics indicate the ageing population in the Lothians is going to grow, with an additional 8000 elderly people in Edinburgh itself by 2016, and the over-65 segment will increase by 30 per cent in that same timeframe.

Despite the rise in hospital admissions in the last four years, NHS Lothian has managed to reduce the average stay of a patient in hospital from six days to just more than five.

Waiting times targets are also being hit across most areas.

NHS Lothian has already announced a series of projects which will help medics deal with a larger and older population.

A bigger Sick Kids Hospital at Little France, due to open by 2012, will help deal with the anticipated increase in patients from a mini baby-boom of the last few years. The health board announced today that almost 1 billion will be spent on new hospitals, premises and equipment over the next decade.

Chief executive Prof James Barbour said: "NHS Lothian like all public bodies has an important role in supporting economic activity during this difficult time."