(Discontinued) Hospital Activity

A consultation took place to seek feedback from users regarding proposals to terminate the Quarterly Activity Return (QAR), and significantly reduce the scope of the Monthly Activity Return (MAR). The rationale was that much of the information could be similarly derived from patient level data sets, thereby reducing the NHS data collection burden. Responses to the consultation were reviewed and a decision made to retire QAR following the publication of Quarter 4 2019-20 data and reduce the scope of MAR to collect referrals information only following the publication of May 2020 data. The consultation and outcome document with further details can be found here.

From June 2020 data, the Monthly Referrals Return (MRR) replaces MAR and QAR. Click the link here to visit the MRR web page. The MRR is a streamlined version of MAR and QAR focusing on referral elements only.

Replacement information covering the consultant-led outpatient and inpatient activity previously collected in MAR and QAR will be published as part of NHS Digital’s existing monthly official statistics publication series (Monthly Hospital Episode Statistics for Admitted Patient Care, Outpatients and Accident and Emergency) released on the same day as the previous MAR data.


Monthly and quarterly activity collections contain different data items covering the same general topic area – hospital inpatient and outpatient activity. The main differences are that the quarterly data covers all specialties but only looks at elective activity whereas monthly data focuses on General & Acute and shows the split between elective and non-elective data and the elective split between ordinary admissions and day cases.

Monthly Activity data items

Inpatients (G&A FFCEs only)
Elective ordinary
Elective day cases
Elective ordinary planned
Elective day case planned
NHS treatment centres
Total non-elective

Outpatients (G&A only)
GP written referrals made
GP written referrals seen
Other referrals made
All 1st outpatient attendances

Outpatients (all specialties)
GP written referrals made
GP written referrals seen

Link to Monthly Hospital Activity page

Quarterly Activity data items

Inpatients (electives only)
Decisions to admit
Patients admitted
Patients failed to attend
Removals other than admissions

Outpatients
Number of GP written referrals
Number of other referrals
1st attendances seen
1st attendances did not attend
Subsequent attendances seen
Subsequent attendances did not attend

All data items relate to all specialties

Link to Quarterly Hospital Activity page

 

Contact Us

For further information about the published statistics, please contact us at:

Performance Analysis Team (National)
NHS England and NHS Improvement
Room 5E15
Quarry House
Leeds LS2 7UE
Great Britain
Email: england.nhsdata@nhs.net