Pneumonia: “Alarming” rise in emergency admissions in England, data show

GPs have been urged to “get the basics right” when treating patients with respiratory illness after a 25% rise in emergency admissions to hospital for pneumonia over two years in England.An analysis of NHS England data shows there were 579 475 cases of pneumonia requiring emergency admission between April 2024 and March 2025, up from 461 995 between April 2022 and March 2023.The figures include people admitted to hospital for pneumonia and those already in hospital who catch pneumonia and then need emergency care.The charity Asthma+Lung UK, which carried out the analysis, said many pneumonia cases are avoidable and could be prevented if there was better provision of basic care for people with existing respiratory conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It warned that numbers are likely to rise further when more recent data become available after another difficult flu season.Andy Whittamore, the charity’s clinical lead and a…