Simple phone checks on the elderly after they leave hospital can cut the number of emergency readmissions by more than 40 per cent, research has found.

Experts said the measure could stop thousands of pensioners from worsening health - and save the NHS millions.

Research by Aston University shows over-65s given a phone call by nurses within a day of leaving hospital were 41 per cent less likely to be readmitted in the next month.

Doctors said the checks meant they could ensure patients knew which medication to take, could check for any signs of confusion, and arrange home visits if required.

Currently, around one in seven older patients end up back in A&E within a month of discharge.

NHS figures show that there were around 865,000 emergency readmissions to English hospitals in 2017-18, costing the NHS at least £2.4bn per year.

Lead researcher Dr James Brown said: “Our work shows that a simple service, whereby community nurses attempt to contact older adult patients after they are discharged from hospital, leads to a significant reduction in the number of patients readmitted within a month.

“It is now more important than ever to minimise the costs to our health services caused by unnecessary readmissions.