How has the age profile changed over time?

Since 2005–06, more than 93% of deaths in hospital were for patients aged 50 or over. Patients aged 85 years and over accounted for an increasing proportion of deaths in hospital—rising from 26% of deaths in hospital in 2005–06 (18,499) to 31% in 2014–15 (23,768) (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Proportion of deaths in hospital by age-group 2005–06 to 2014–15

This horizontal bar chart shows the proportion of deaths for each age-group from 2005–06 to 2014–15. The chart shows that since 2005–06, more than 93%25 of deaths in hospital were for patients aged 50 or over. The chart also shows patients aged 85 years and over accounted for an increasing proportion of deaths in hospital—rising from 26%25 of deaths in hospital in 2005–06 to 31%25 in 2014–15.

Source: NHMD.