Hospital admissions for stress up by seven per cent

The number of people being admitted to hospital with stress is soaring, figures reveal today.

Hospitals dealt with 6,370 people suffering from excessive emotional and mental pressure in the 12 months to May this year, a rise of seven per cent or 410 cases on the previous year. Total hospital admissions rose by only two per cent in the same period.

Admission rates for stress were highest among people aged from 18 to 60, according to provisional findings by the NHS’s Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC). The figures reveal admissions alone and not cases dealt with solely by accident and emergency departments.

The North West had the highest rate of stress-related admissions, with the South West the lowest. Men accounted for 54 per cent of such patients.

Admissions rose among people up to the age of 50, after which they declined steadily.

Tim Straughan, the chief executive of HSCIC, said: “It might be assumed that stress and anxiety are conditions that result in a journey to a GP consulting room rather than a hospital ward. However, our figures suggest that thousands of cases a year arise where patients suffering from stress or anxiety become hospitalised in England.”

In contrast, admissions for anxiety — defined by a feeling of mild or severe unease — fell by almost three per cent, down from 8,810 to 8,590.

The elderly were more likely to need treatment than other groups, and women accounted for 63 per cent of such admissions, or 5,390 cases.