Emergency Readmissions Within 30 Days of Discharge From Hospital

Identifying Attributes

Care Settings
Hospital Care
Country
England
Publishing Organisation
National Health Service (NHS): Outcomes Framework
Type of Quality Indicator
Outcome
IOM Quality Dimension
Effectiveness
Domain
Readmission

Defining Attributes

Definition

Percentage of emergency admissions to any hospital in England occurring within 30 days of the most recent discharge from hospital.

Numerator

The number of finished and unfinished Continuous Inpatient spells intersecting the respective financial year, plus those up to 30 days into the next financial year that are emergency admissions within 0- 29 days (inclusive) of the last, previous discharge from hospital

Denominator

The number of finished Continuous Inpatient spells within selected medical and surgical specialties with a discharge date up to 31st March in the financial year of analysis.

Exclusions

Mental health services, Obstetrics, or where there is a diagnosis of cancer or chemotherapy for cancer during the stay in hospital or within the last year.

Use of Risk Adjustment
Yes
Risk Adjustments

Indirectly age, sex, method of admission and diagnosis/procedure standardised

Stratifications

Country, Regions, ONS Area Classification, Provider, Deprivation, Local Authorities, Independent Sector Health Care, Providers, Sub-Integrated Care Boards, Integrated Care Boards

Data Attributes

Type of Data Collection
Administrative data
Data Collection Methods

Hospital episode statistics and Office for National Statistics mid year population data

Frequency of Data Collection
Annually
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
365
Reporting Methods

Statistical reports on health services include a quality report and descriptions of the special features of the statistics.

Reporting Frequency
Annually
Reporting Frequency in Days
365
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
No

Source and Reference Attributes

Link to Measurement Tools
Quality Indicator Confirmed to be Part of a Program Used to Monitor Quality and Safety of Care Among Older People at a Population-Level between 2012-2022
Yes
Assessed by the Australian Consortium for Aged Care Collaborators as Generally Containing Good Properties (Importance and Scientific Acceptability)
Yes
Australian Consortium for Aged Care Endorsed
No
Identified by PHARMA-Care Project
No
Upload Date
23 July 2025