Commenting on a report released today (15 May) by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine which shows there were more than 16,600 deaths associated with long A&E waits before admission in England last year, Dr Nick Murch, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “It is simply shocking to see such a large number of deaths associated with excess waits in emergency departments but, tragically, the warning signs have been present for far too long.
“As we have said continuously about the dire state of monthly 12-hour waiting figures, it signifies a profound failure within our healthcare system.
“We must ensure that 12-hour waits in emergency departments again become an infrequent exception rather than the norm and that will require urgent and adequate action on workforce and capacity issues which remain unresolved.”