Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the most common cause of unplanned admissions to hospitals in England is; and what steps he is taking to reduce the need for those admissions.

The most common cause of unplanned admissions from the most recent data available (2018/19) was for those with primary diagnosis of diseases of the digestive system.

As part of the NHS Long Term Plan there are five workstreams that underpin the Urgent and Emergency Care reform programme. As part of this programme steps taken to reduce the need for admissions have included Same Day Emergency Care which has increased the proportion of people who are not admitted overnight in an emergency. In addition NHS 111 has been enhanced, so that over 50% of people calling the service receive a clinical assessment over the phone and can be offered immediate clinical advice or be referred to the right clinician for a face to face consultation, thereby reducing the need for hospital admissions.