Acute Patient Level Activity and Costing, 2018-19

A total cost of £3.3 billion was reported for A&E activity, of which £1.6 billion (48%) related to females and £1.5 billion (46%) related to males. Gender was unknown or unspecified for £205 million (6%) of reported cost.  

The distribution of total cost by age is broadly similar for each gender, with higher costs for males than females in the under 15 age groups, and higher costs for females than males in the age groups between 15 and 39 years, and above 80 years.

The ratio of total cost to count of attendances increases with patient age, indicating that the average cost of an attendance increases with patient age.

A total cost of £29.1 billion was reported for APC activity, of which £15.0 billion (52%) related to females and £12.4 billion (43%) related to males. Gender was unknown or unspecified for £1.6 billion (6%) of reported cost. 

The distributions of total cost and count of episodes by age show increases in total costs and activity for females in the age groups between 15 and 49 which are likely to represent maternity related admissions.

A total cost of £11.9 billion was reported for OP activity, of which £6.4 billion (53%) related to females and £4.8 billion (40%) related to males. Gender was unknown or unspecified for £816 million (7%) of reported cost. 

The total cost and count of appointments are markedly higher for females in the age groups from 15 to 59 compared to males in the same age groups.