MILLIONS of pounds could potentially be saved in the Bradford district by reducing avoidable emergency hospital admissions, a new study has found.

The analysis of national NHS data has been carried out by Dr Foster, which aims to equip healthcare organisations to make better and faster decisions on the quality and value of connected healthcare.

Its report focuses on emergency admission rates for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs), which includes things like flu and pneumonia, kidney and urinary tract infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and looks at the potential savings which could be made by addressing admissions for these types of conditions.

The report says figures for the North of England are consistently higher and people living in more deprived areas have much higher admission rates for conditions like COPD, flu and pneumonia and ear, nose and throat infections.

It also makes a series of recommendations on how the NHS could tackle high ACSC admission rates to reduce pressure on emergency departments. These include identifying high-risk patients early, using data for targeted intervention and encouraging self-management for things like COPD, asthma and diabetes.

Analysis at CCG level has revealed a potential saving of just over £5 million to the CCGs which cover the Bradford district and Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven.

Dr Dave Tatham, clinical lead for urgent and emergency care, NHS Bradford district and Craven clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) said: “Reducing admission rates for ambulatory care sensitive conditions is one of our key priorities and there is lots of work going on to reduce these rates across Bradford district and Craven.

“People in Bradford district and Craven are able to book GP appointments in the evenings and over the weekend. These are available at a number of hubs across the area. In Bradford, this includes specialist clinics for patients with long term conditions such as asthma. People can book these appointments through their usual GP practice.

“The Bradford Breathing Better programme has proactively identified people, either living with or at risk of COPD, for targeted interventions. This includes admissions avoidance through identifying patients at high risk of admission and/or following up with those who have had a previous admission. This approach enables patients to better manage their condition and adopt self-management techniques.

“For other conditions, such as diabetes, we are supporting people through working with local voluntary and community sector organisations to deliver services out in the community.

“We are also working with local hospital trusts to improve the pathways of care for people with ambulatory care sensitive conditions. These pathways span primary and secondary care and aim to reduce hospital admissions. Intermediate care hubs also aim to reduce admissions for patients with long term conditions, such as COPD.

“For children specifically, the national award winning Ambulatory Care Experience service delivers care out of hospital and in people’s homes and communities.

“In addition to these targeted schemes, we continue to support and empower local people to use self-care techniques and seek advice from their local pharmacy for non-urgent health issues.”

The report also identified savings of more than £10 million possible and more than 32,000 bed day savings for the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership.

A spokesperson for the partnership said: "We recognise that there are variations across the area on a range of performance indicators.

"As a health and care partnership, we work together to understand these difference whilst identifying good practice and sharing learning that may help address them.

"We know that the way people experience health and care services is as a whole system, and so it follows that our local areas, including Bradford District and Craven, are working together to join up health and care for people, as well as ensuring the quality of individual services and organisations – which includes preventing ill health and supporting people at the right time, in the right place by the most appropriate service."