Hospital admissions per 1,000 people

Outpatient appointments attended per 1,000 people

What it means: how much NHS hospitals in England do, scaled by the size of the population. An admission is a stay in a hospital bed, including day cases: 10,010,000 were planned (elective) and 6,540,000 emergencies in the latest year, with the rest mostly maternity. Outpatient appointments are visits to a hospital clinic without staying in, including follow-ups and video or phone appointments; a further 8,150,000 were missed by patients. Both fell sharply in 2020-21 during Covid. More activity can mean more need as well as more treatment, so this is shown for context. Rates use the population at the start of each financial year.

Source: NHS England, Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity 2025-26, summary table 1; Hospital Outpatient Activity 2025-26, summary report 1; population from ONS mid-year estimates (ENPOP).