The aim of the study is to produce summary statistics on the trends in use of primary care, secondary care and mortality at a high level, by age, sex, deprivation and ethnicity:
1. Primary care consultation rates and outcomes (referrals, prescribing, tests, immunisation),
2. Accident and emergency visit rates and outcomes (admission, discharge)
3. Outpatient hospital visit rates and outcomes (discharge, referral, etc.)
4. Emergency inpatient admissions and diagnosis
5. Elective inpatient admissions and diagnosis
6. Mortality rates and causes
We will summarise mean and standard errors of the rates of 1-6 above each year between 2010 and 2019 and compare with COVID-19 related hospitalisations and mortality in 2020/2021. We will do this in each combination of age, sex, ethnicity and deprivation group to describe how health care use has changed over time for different groups in the population prior to austerity and to explore whether this is indicative of an erosion of health that was associated with worse outcomes during the pandemic.
Primary care consultation rates – key variables: age; sex; ethnicity; patient-level Index of Multiple Deprivation; outcome of consultation (referral, prescribing, test, immunisation); the presence of pre-existing long-term condition: Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Failure, Coronary Heart Disease, Atrial Fibrillation, Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder, Stroke, Chronic Kidney Disease, Chronic Liver Disease, Depression, Anxiety, Dementia
Accident and emergency visit rates – key variables: age; sex; ethnicity; patient-level Index of Multiple Deprivation; outcome of visit (admission/discharge)
Outpatient hospital admission rates – key variables: age; sex; ethnicity; patient-level Index of Multiple Deprivation; outcome of consultation (admission/discharge)
Inpatient hospital admission rates – key variables: age; sex; ethnicity; patient-level Index of Multiple Deprivation; emergency/elective admission type; diagnosis codes (ICD 10); procedure codes (OPCS); length of stay; HRG (for linking to reference costs)
Mortality rates - key variables: age; sex; ethnicity; patient-level Index of Multiple Deprivation; causes of death (ICD 10)
Miqdad Asaria - Chief Investigator - The Health Foundation
Andrew Campbell - Corresponding Applicant - The Health Foundation
Ann Raymond - Collaborator - The Health Foundation
Laurie Rachet-Jacquet - Collaborator - The Health Foundation
Stephen Rocks - Collaborator - The Health Foundation
Toby Watt - Collaborator - The Health Foundation
HES Accident and Emergency;HES Admitted Patient Care;HES Outpatient;ONS Death Registration Data;Patient Level Index of Multiple Deprivation;Practice Level Rural-Urban Classification