More than 1,300 deaths a month in England due to long A&E waits, figures suggest
Summary
More than 1,300 people a month in England die because they wait too long in emergency rooms (A&E). The Royal College of Emergency Medicine says this number has grown nearly ten times since 2015 and is linked to overcrowded hospitals and slow patient admission.Key Facts
- Over 300 deaths per week in England in 2025 are linked to long waits in A&E, rising from 30 per week in 2015.
- The risk of death increases after five hours waiting in A&E and gets worse the longer the wait.
- In 2025, there were an estimated 15,860 excess deaths due to long A&E waits.
- Emergency doctors say the problem results from full hospitals and a focus on easier cases rather than the most urgent patients.
- Nursing leaders call for more hospital beds, more nurses, better primary care, and improved social care to fix the issue.
- The government says it is investing £215 million to build and expand urgent care centers to relieve pressure on A&E.
- Specialist teams are being sent to hospitals with the worst corridor care to help fix the problem.
- Despite some improvements, long waits remain a serious and ongoing issue in England’s emergency care system.
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