January 24, 2025 from the Daily Mail
New research has revealed that more than 57,000 patients died in 2023 after waiting over 12 hours in A&E—a figure that is four times higher than previous estimates from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM).
The Health Foundation calculated this staggering number by combining NHS England data on wait times with a study from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on patient mortality rates. The findings highlight the severe consequences of long delays in emergency care, with experts calling for urgent government intervention.
Long A&E Waits Lead to Higher Death Rates
In 2023, 1.77 million patients in England waited 12 hours or more in A&E, despite the NHS’s four-hour target for emergency care.
According to the ONS study, 5% of patients who wait 12 hours or more die within 30 days, compared to 2.1% of those treated within two hours.
This means that had patients been treated sooner, 57,000 deaths could have been prevented.
Experts and Politicians Call for Immediate Action
The findings have sparked outrage from healthcare leaders and politicians, who argue that long waits in A&E are directly costing lives.
Helen Morgan, health and social care spokesman for the Liberal Democrat, called the new analysis “sickening”. Morgan emphasized the issue with this data, saying that
“It lays bare the deadly consequences of a health service that has been run into the ground with patients and their loved ones often paying the ultimate price.”
Morgan urged the government to act immediately, stating:
“It is simply not good enough for this new government to sit on its hands any longer. We need to see immediate action to get to the bottom of these deadly delays.”
Dr. Adrian Boyle, President of the RCEM, emphasized that these deaths were avoidable and called on the government to make reducing A&E wait times a top priority.
“What we can categorically say is that deaths associated with long A&E waits are tragic, and ultimately avoidable.”
Boyle insisted that the issue must be a top priority for the government.
“People are dying and it is in their power to prevent it.”
Patients Dying Unnoticed in Overcrowded Hospitals
The research comes after nurses reported that some patients have died unnoticed for hours while waiting in overcrowded hospital corridors.
Healthcare professionals warn that the situation reflects a system pushed beyond its limits, where staff shortages, bed shortages, and increased demand are contributing to deadly delays.
What Happens Next?
With pressure mounting from both healthcare leaders and the public, the UK government faces urgent calls to address the crisis in emergency care.
Unless immediate action is taken to reduce A&E wait times, thousands more preventable deaths could occur in the coming year.
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