Trimodal age distribution of frequent attendance at the emergency department: a descriptive analysis of national, English, secondary care data using a retrospective cohort.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Frequent use of emergency departments (EDs) places a considerable burden on healthcare systems. Although frequent attenders are known to have complex physical, mental health and social needs, national-level evidence on their characteristics and patterns of attendance remains limited. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive, population-level description of frequent ED attendance in England, with a focus on age-based subgroups.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

EDs in England via the Hospital Episode Statistics and the Emergency Care Dataset data linked with primary care prescribing and mortality data, between March 2016 and March 2021.

Participants

The dataset received from National Health Service Digital contained approximately 150 milli

SUBMITTER: Marshall C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12516972 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature