The NHS is "rationing care" by admitting few patients owing to bed shortages, a new analysis has suggested. The research by The Health Foundation stated that 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 (the 'length of stay') increased.
The data shared by the researchers showed that in 2022, there were 800,000 (12 per cent) fewer hospital admissions than in 2019, with elective admissions down by 279,000 (21 per cent) and emergency admissions by 521,000 (9 per cent).
Despite this, the number of bed days has declined only slightly by 2.5 per cent, from 36.2 million in 2019 to 35.3 million in 2022.
The worrying results underline the intense strain on the NHS and raise questions on it meeting the recovery targets.
The researchers said: "The analysis suggests that because hospitals are at the limits of their capacity and because the average length of stay has increased, hospitals have had to increase admission thresholds, in effect rationing care by admitting fewer patients."
In 2022, the total number of hospital admissions in England was around 6 million, compared to 6.8 million in 2019. In contrast, once admitted, the average time a patient spent in the hospital increased from 7.3 days (2019) to 8.3 days (2022).
Furthermore, in emergency care - which accounts for more than 80 per cent of hospital bed days - the number of patients admitted for longer stays in hospital (14 days or more) increased by 41,000 in 2022 compared to 2019.
In contrast, more than half a million (562,000) fewer patients were admitted for short stays (less than 14 days) in 2022 than in 2019, the data revealed.
The most significant reductions in admissions were seen among people living in the most deprived areas. Emergency admissions between 2019 and 2022 dropped by 80,000 for those living in the most deprived areas, more than twice as much as the 35,000 decrease for those living in the least deprived areas.
It is not clear whether the patients who might have been admitted in 2022, had more beds been available, were treated elsewhere or have gone untreated.
Charles Tallack, director of data analytics at the Health Foundation and one of the report authors, said: "Hospitals are stretched to the limit, with bed occupancy well above safe levels. Patients are staying longer in hospital than before the pandemic, due to a range of factors including the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and delayed discharges.
"As a result, hospitals appear to have had little choice but to increase admission thresholds and reduce the number of patients being admitted, particularly in deprived areas of the country.
"Years of under investment has seen hospital bed capacity come under real strain and social care and community services are severely stretched. The NHS has a huge task to recover services and improve access to care but it's clear that more investment is needed to boost capacity inside and outside hospitals if these ambitions are to become a reality."
However, the NHS claimed that there has been a long-term shift within elective services from overnight to day case treatment, and from admitted to outpatient care which is better for both staff and patients.
It stated that the number of overnight elective admissions fell by 14 per cent between 2009 and 2019, so this is not a recent change and is certainly not about "rationing care"
An NHS spokesperson told Express.co.uk: "It is categorically untrue to say the NHS is 'rationing care' and that is deeply unfair on staff who are working incredibly hard caring for patients despite record demand - more than four in five of those on a waiting list will not need admission and only 3 percent require an overnight stay, with 4.5 million people treated since the start of January and staff making significant progress in reducing the longest waits for care.
"It is vitally important that where possible, we reduce unnecessary emergency admissions, not least because it is better for patients when a hospital stay can be avoided or when care can be better provided by another service, such as same day emergency care units, minor injuries units or other types of community care closer to home."