UK hospitals see 50 daily deaths from emergency care delays Study finds

Around 50 people are dying every day in the UK due to delays in receiving emergency care.

According to leading doctors, the UK’s major hospitals are struggling to handle the surge in patients, many suffering from flu and other viral illnesses, as the winter season intensifies, Caliber.Az reports referring to The Times.

In some cases, patients are waiting up to 50 hours in emergency departments for treatment.

In December 2024, around 167,000 patients faced wait times exceeding 12 hours. As a result of these delays, excess deaths in 2024 rose by approximately 16,000.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has previously warned that long delays in emergency care can be fatal. Based on academic research showing a significant increase in death rates for those waiting more than 8 to 12 hours in A&E (accident and emergency), the college estimated that 14,000 people died in 2023 due to these delays.

The Times applied the same method, concluding that excess deaths due to delays surged to around 16,000 in 2024. In December, with nearly 167,000 patients waiting over 12 hours, it is estimated that 50 excess deaths occurred daily, even before the worst of this year's winter pressures set in.

Last October, UK National Health Service (NHS) officials recommended a “drop and go” scheme for local ambulance doctors, which essentially means that doctors can dump patients in hospital corridors without completing their hospitalization in favour of more serious calls for patients with heart attacks, strokes, and other serious health conditions.

Although flu cases appear to have peaked, they remain high, and the cold weather is expected to continue into the weekend. Saffron Cordery, interim CEO of NHS Providers, described the winter as "brutal" for the NHS, adding that conditions may worsen before improving.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, expressed his condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones, acknowledging the extraordinary pressure on hospitals. He emphasized that NHS staff are doing everything possible to manage the wave of winter viruses, patient flow issues, and high bed occupancy, while striving to deliver the safest care possible. He added, “Nobody in the NHS wants to see patients waiting 12 hours in A&E,” though he highlighted that NHS staff treated 150,000 more patients within four hours in December compared to the previous year.

By Tamilla Hasanova