UK: Over 4,500 Patients Died after 12 Hours Waiting Last Year

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According to a survey, more than 4,500 patients died after spending 12 hours on trolleys in packed A&E departments last year.

According to a Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) assessment, overcrowding in emergency rooms is a "major threat" to public health, resulting in more deaths and longer hospital admissions.

In an address to health leaders, Health Secretary Sajid Javid stated that the number of depressed patients had nearly doubled since before the pandemic, describing the "dispiriting" backlog of care.

"We must be ambitious about restoring services and not let anything stand in our way,” Javid told the NHS Providers conference.

According to the RCEM, one out of every 67 individuals who spend 12 hours in an emergency room would suffer preventable harm.

The NHS England Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) initiative, which aims to improve treatment and care via assessments of services, estimated the link between how long a patient remains in hospital and their chances of dying.

According to the paper, between 2020 and 2021, there were 4,519 excessive deaths in England's emergency departments due to harm caused by patients waiting on trolleys between eight to 12 hours, based on GRIFT findings and NHS England hospital episode reports.

“This may be an underestimate, as stays longer than 12 hours would be expected to confer a greater risk of death,” the report warned.