Longer hospital stays and fewer admissions

This Health Foundation analysis shows that 800,000 (12 per cent) fewer patients in England were admitted to hospital in 2022 than in 2019, while at the same time the average length of time patients spent in hospital increased.

It suggests that because hospitals are at the limits of their capacity and length of stay has increased, hospitals have had to increase admission thresholds, in effect rationing care by admitting fewer patients.