Key summary pointsAimTo describe the prevalence of perceived factors contributing to the unplanned hospital readmission of medical patients aged 65 years and above.FindingsPerceived factors contributing to unplanned readmission relate to the patient’s illness and how it is managed. Patients and significant others as well as general practitioners and hospital physicians have low inter-rater agreement and different views on the contributing factors.MessageGeneral practitioners and significant others find it challenging to meet the needs, demands and expectations of patients who are discharged hastily and have not recovered.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41999-023-00799-6.