‘Thousands more deaths in emergency rooms’ amid NHS crisis, Labor says
Data shows that the number of people dying in emergency departments has increased by 30 percent in four years, amid record wait times for treatment.
Figures obtained by Labor through freedom of information requests showed that there were more than 23,000 emergency room deaths in 2022.
That is 4,000 more than in the previous year and 5,500 more than in 2019.
Separate figures show that in April, more than 113,000 people waited more than the 4 hours allotted for emergency room treatment, while 27,000 had to wait more than 12 hours.
According to a study published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, waiting longer than five hours to be admitted to the emergency room can significantly increase a patient’s risk of dying or becoming seriously ill.
Data provided to Labor by NHS trusts appears to confirm that a total of 23,316 people have lost their lives in emergency departments – up from 19,122 in 2021 and 17,502 in 2019.
The number for 2022 is a 30 percent increase from 2018 when the number was 17,830.
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “People who contact the NHS in an emergency should know that they will be examined and treated before it is too late.” That the Conservatives have failed for 13 years Properly staffing or reforming the NHS has cost lives.
“The last time Labor was in government patients in emergencies were treated in a timely manner.
“It took the Conservatives 13 years to break the NHS, it can’t be fixed overnight. But it will be the job of the next Labor government to build an NHS that is there for you when you need it again.”
dr Adrian Boyle, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), said the figures were shocking and worrying and the system was clearly not working as it should.
“It is reassuring to see that Labor is committed to tackling waiting times and we urge all other parties to do the same. and to embed that commitment in their forthcoming manifestos,” he said.
The Conservatives responded with counter-reproaches about Labour’s own record of meeting waiting targets. Health Secretary Maria Caulfield said: “The uncomfortable truth is that where Labor is in power, the NHS is worse off.”
“In Wales, since its inception 14 years ago, Labor has consistently missed waiting targets and caused higher death rates than in England.
“Meanwhile, we’re conducting a record number of tests, accelerating hospital discharges and reducing waiting lists, all while working to halve inflation, boost the economy, reduce debt and halt the boats.”
The NHS endured its worst winter crisis on record last year due to staff shortages and a rise in flu and strep A infections.
In the capital, patients suspected of having a stroke waited an average of nearly an hour and a half for an ambulance in December, the worst number on record.
In January, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) warned that delays in emergency care could result in up to 500 deaths a week, a figure disputed by NHS bosses.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has conceded that the four-hour target set in the NHS Constitution Handbook is no longer achievable before the pandemic.
Instead, the government has set an interim target that by March 2024, three quarters of emergency room patients should be treated within four hours.
Around 70 percent can currently be seen during this time.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/thousands-more-deaths-accident-emergency-hospitals-nhs-b1082482.html ‘Thousands more deaths in emergency rooms’ amid NHS crisis, Labor says
