Excess Deaths Linked to Long A&E Waits Increased by 20 Percent, Medics Estimate
This is equivalent to 320 lives lost a week and an increase of 20 percent compared to 2023, when an estimated 13,919 patients may have died needlessly while waiting for a hospital bed, according to figures published by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) on Thursday.
The RCEM's president, Dr. Adrian Boyle, said the figures were 'the equivalent of two aeroplanes crashing every week,' calling it 'heartbreaking' for families whose loved ones died waiting for care.
The medics' methodology for making the estimate was based on a
Similarly, data published by the Office for National Statistics earlier this year
1.7 Million Patients
In 2024, more than 1.7 million patients waited 12 hours or more to be admitted, discharged, or transferred from the emergency department, an increase of almost 14 percent on the year before, according to the RCEM.
Of those patients, more than two-thirds (69.2 percent) were waiting to be admitted to a ward for further care.
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Commenting on the figures, Boyle said: 'It's sobering, heartbreaking, devastating, and more. Because this is so much more than just data and statistics. Each number represents a person—a dearly loved family member—grandparents, parents, siblings, and friends—who has died because of a system in crisis.
'These were patients who were stuck in emergency departments, watching the clock tick by as they waited extremely long hours, often on a trolley in a corridor, for an in-patient bed to become available for them.'
The medic warned there may be far more deaths linked to long delays in getting emergency care.
He pointed out that this methodology only accounts for patients who actually reached A&E. It does not include those left waiting for urgent medical care in the community, either because ambulances are unable to hand them over to overcrowded emergency departments, or because patients are 'too anxious to seek help when they should.'
'Not Sustainable'
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the report 'lays bare the crisis in NHS waiting times we inherited, with patients suffering unacceptable delays for urgent treatment. It will be a long road to fix our NHS, but we are doing the work to get us there.'
The spokesperson added that the government has invested an extra £26 billion to reform the NHS. Plans include shifting services from hospital to community to ease pressure on emergency departments, and recruiting an extra 1,000 GPs 'to reach patients earlier and move towards prevention.'
File photo of a nurse taking the blood pressure of an elderly patient at an NHS hospital in England on Jan. 18, 2023.
PA Wire
The estimates were released ahead of the launch of the newly-formed All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Emergency Care.
The APPG is chaired by Labour MP Dr. Rosena Allin-Khan, who is an A&E doctor and says she sees how stretched emergency services are on a weekly basis during her shifts.
She said the 'ever-increasing numbers of excess deaths and long wait times in our emergency departments are simply not sustainable.'
'The government have pledged to fix the foundations of our public services and our A&Es must be at the front and centre of this ambition. There has never been an APPG for emergency care before and this is exactly the vehicle needed to bring together industry experts, legislators, and the government to move things forward,' Allin-Khan said.
Corridor Care
The estimates come amid other reports pointing to the dangers of vulnerable patients waiting long hours in A&E for treatment, with many receiving care in inappropriate settings such as in waiting rooms or hospital car parks, in what has come to be known as '
A report from the RCEM
In January, the Royal College of Physicians reported that crowding in emergency departments, while growing steadily over the past several years, had worsened in the last 12 to 18 months and was no longer limited to the winter months typically linked to higher illness rates.
A poll commissioned by the Royal College of Nursing published in February
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"It's based on the same principles as acupuncture, but instead of using needles, you use fingers, palms, elbows, or tools to stimulate the points," Dr. Parker explains. "The idea is to restore the smooth flow of Qi (vital energy) and blood through the body to promote healing, reduce tension, and support balance between the body and mind," she says. "From a Western perspective, acupressure may stimulate the nervous system, influence endorphin release, reduce cortisol, and activate the parasympathetic 'rest and digest' response," the doctor continues. According to The American Institute of Alternative Medicine, the practice is "based on the belief that applying firm pressure in specific acupoints stimulates the nervous system and brain to release endorphins and neurotransmitters to ease... pain." 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