Outpatient visits

Fifteen per cent of respondents reported visiting an outpatient or casualty department at least once in the three months prior to interview. There has been a general upward trend since 1972, when 10% of all respondents reported such visits, although there has been a slight decrease from the 1998 figure of 16%.

Older respondents were most likely to have reported attending an outpatient or casualty department; one quarter of those aged 75 and over had done so.

Seven percent of men and 8% of women reported attending hospital as a day patient in the 12 months prior to interview. The proportion of respondents attending hospitals as day patients has increased since this question was first asked in 1992 from 4% to 7% among males and from 4% to 8% among females.

In 2000, 8% of people reported an inpatient stay in the 12 months prior to interview. This was a slight but significant reduction from the 9% in 1998. The differences with respect to age and sex were similar to those seen in previous years. A larger percentage of women than men said they had an inpatient stay (9% compared with 7%). Those aged 75 or over were more likely to report an inpatient stay than any other age group; 18% in this age group did so.

Among those who had been an inpatient, the average number of nights spent in hospital during the 12 months prior to the interview was 9. With the exception of children under five, the average number of nights increased with age, from 3 nights for those aged between 5 and 15, to 16 nights for those aged 75 or over.