12-hour waits ‘symptom of sustained and intolerable pressure’ – SAM past president (01 September)

Commenting on a Liberal Democrat analysis of NHS data which showed hospitals faced their busiest summer ever this year, Dr Tim Cooksley, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said:

“The Society for Acute Medicine has long warned that 12-hour waits in emergency departments are not isolated events but symptoms of a system under sustained and intolerable pressure. 

“Reports of more than 1,200 daily 12-hour delays during the summer – traditionally a period of relative stability – highlight how deeply entrenched the crisis has become, but this is a reality we have seen for some time now.

“As SAM has consistently stated, the real barriers to recovery lie in workforce shortages, a lack of hospital and community capacity and major delays in delivering adequate social care provision.

“Acute medical teams are facing an impossible task – managing high-risk patients in overcrowded environments, often in undignified conditions such as corridors. It is not safe, sustainable or acceptable for patients or staff.

“Until there is a credible, coordinated plan to address the chronic staffing crisis, improve hospital flow and invest in community and social care, there will be no meaningful recovery for the NHS – summer, winter or otherwise.”