New stats show the danger of long waits, as 514,000 patients wait more than 12 hours in 2024
Patients who wait longer in A&E departments waiting for non-immediate care are more likely to die a month after discharge, new Office of National Statistics (ONS) data suggests. Doctors have said the results show that A&E delays are a danger to patients, even after they have been discharged.
The results showed that the post-discharge mortality rate was higher for patients whose visit took more than two hours. People who were in A&E for four hours were 1.29 times more likely to die than those who were in for two hours, and people who were in A&E for 10 hours twice as likely.
The results do not separate time spent waiting and time spent being treated, but Dr. Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, says the data shows what is well known among the medical community: “Long waits in the emergency department are extremely dangerous and a significant threat to patient safety.”
The data comes as A&E waiting times continue to rise rapidly across England. Latest ONS figures show over 40% of patients wait over 4 hours to be admitted to A&E.
The wait time between a decision to admit and admittance has grown too, and waiting over 12 hours, a rarity before COVID-19, has become relatively common. In 2024, over 518,000 people waited over 12 hours between being assessed and actually being admitted into A&E.
Every longer waiting time poses a greater risk to patients.
Ali Bouchemel, a 54 year old from Mitcham, London, waited four hours for a brain operation after being admitted to A&E following a stroke.
“They needed to get oxygen to my brain, so they cut off part of my skull”, he told City News.
Bouchemel was discharged to await further treatment. Weeks later, he suffered a neurological episode.
“I collapsed on the road, and a member of the public found me and called the ambulance,” he explained, adding: “I could have been saved if they had got oxygen to my brain faster.”
Dr Boyle says it's now time to go beyond analytics and call for political action. However, on Monday, Health secretary Wes Streeting announced that a host of hospital regeneration schemes will be delayed for several years. In fact, for several hospitals, work won't begin for another 12 years.
