The chart below shows figures for attendances at hospital emergency care departments in Northern Ireland by age group in December 2016 and 2017.

The bar chart illustrates how many people attended hospital emergency care departments in Northern Ireland across six age

groups

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in December 2016 and 2017.

Overall

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, attendance rates increased in all age

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between December 2016 and December 2017. The highest figures were recorded among people aged 75 and over,

while

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those aged 5-15 had the lowest attendance rates in both years. In 2016, the figure for people aged 75 and over stood at approximately 64 attendances per 1,000 population, compared with only about 21 among those aged 5–15. By 2017, these figures had risen to around 69 and 22

respectively

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, respectively

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, meaning that the gap between the two

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remained considerable. For the other age

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, children under 5 recorded just over 50 attendances per 1,000 population in 2016, increasing to about 54 in 2017. The rates for those aged 16–44, 45–64 and 65–74 were all close to 30 in 2016 and experienced only modest rises the following year. Among these three

groups

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, the 45–64 category had the lowest figures,

while

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the 65–74 group recorded the highest.