Long A&E Waits in England Linked to Tenfold Rise in Deaths
More than 1,300 patients in England are dying needlessly every month due to long waits in A&E departments, according to analysis by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM). This represents a nearly tenfold increase in excess deaths compared to 2015, with over 300 deaths linked to long stays occurring every week in 2025.
The Scale of the Crisis
The RCEM estimates that 15,860 excess deaths occurred in 2025 as a direct result of prolonged emergency department waiting times. While this figure is a slight decrease from the 16,644 deaths recorded in 2024, it remains drastically higher than the 1,657 deaths attributed to these delays in 2015.
The calculation is based on a 2021 study of 5 million NHS patients published in the Emergency Medicine Journal. The data indicates that the risk of death begins to climb after five hours of waiting, with one excess death occurring for every 72 patients who wait between eight and 12 hours for an inpatient bed.
The risk of patient death in A&E begins to increase after a wait of five hours, with the danger intensifying significantly as time spent waiting for a bed continues to grow.
Why the System is Under Pressure
Dr. Ian Higginson, president of the RCEM, has characterized the situation as a failure of the system to care for its patients. He noted that emergency doctors are often forced to focus on the least sick patients to improve headline statistics, rather than prioritizing those with the most urgent needs.
The disconnect between performance metrics and the reality of bedside care appears to be a central friction point. When institutional focus shifts toward “quick fixes” and artificial targets rather than the root causes of overcrowding, the result—as evidenced by these figures—is a measurable increase in preventable mortality.
Other health leaders echo these concerns. Prof. Nicola Ranger of the Royal College of Nursing described the death toll as a “catastrophe,” while Dr. Vicky Price of the Society for Acute Medicine labeled the ongoing overcrowding a “national shame.”
What May Happen Next
If systemic changes are not implemented, experts suggest that A&E departments will likely remain in a state of constant distress. Without a move toward long-term solutions—such as increased investment in hospital beds, nursing staff, and social care capacity—it is expected that patients will continue to face unnecessary risks.
The Department of Health and Social Care maintains that current waiting times are at their lowest level in half a decade. The government is currently deploying specialist teams to NHS trusts with the highest levels of corridor care and investing £215m into 40 new or expanded same-day emergency care and urgent treatment centers to alleviate pressure on the system.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many deaths are linked to A&E waits per week?
In 2025, there were more than 300 deaths linked to long A&E waits every week, compared to 30 per week in 2015.
At what point does the risk of death increase for a patient in A&E?
According to the 2021 study utilized by the RCEM, the risk of death begins to increase after a patient has waited five hours, with one excess death occurring for every 72 patients who wait between eight and 12 hours for a bed.
What is the government doing to address the issue?
The Department of Health and Social Care is investing over £215m in 40 new and expanded same-day emergency care and urgent treatment centers and is deploying specialist teams to NHS trusts experiencing the highest levels of corridor care.
What steps do you believe are most critical to restoring safety and efficiency in emergency departments?