According to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), the number of deaths will continue to rise as emergency care is reduced.
The warning came after “truly shocking” official data showed patient delays hit a new all-time high.
Nearly 55,000 patients were forced to wait 12 hours after being admitted to hospital last month, while ambulance arrival times for emergencies such as heart attacks and strokes have deteriorated dramatically.
Senior doctors warned that these figures are the “tip of the iceberg” and that the above-average number of patient deaths will increase as waiting times shorten.
The number of patients treated in England’s emergency departments for four hours fell to a record low of 65% in December – the worst ever.
Professor Ian Higginson, vice president of RCEM, said: “For every 82 patients waiting more than six hours in the emergency room, there is one death. So if more patients wait longer in the emergency room, there will be more deaths.”
One improvement was that the waiting list for common procedures such as cataract surgery and hip replacement surgery was slightly reduced to 7.19 million from a record 7.21 million.
According to NHS England, the average response time of ambulances dealing with the most urgent cases, such as cardiac arrest, was 10 minutes 57 seconds in December. The goal is seven minutes.
Category 2 calls, such as suspected stroke, heart attack, burns and epilepsy, took an average of one hour, 32 minutes and 54 seconds for ambulances to respond. This is the longest reading on record and well over the 18-minute target. Ambulances must respond to 90 percent of category 2 calls within 40 minutes. The latest figures show that one in ten waited at least three hours, 41 minutes and 48 seconds for a response.
RCEM President Dr. Adrian Boyle said: “The performance figures for December are truly shocking with over 50 percent of all patients waiting over four hours and nearly 55,000 patients waiting 12 hours to make a decision to enroll. Waiting 12 hours from deciding to admit the truth obscures the truth and is just the tip of the iceberg, we know the reality is much worse. We know that the extent of prolonged waiting in the emergency department is harmful to patients and is associated with patient death.”
Downing Street said the numbers are “clearly unacceptable” but the government is “very focused on making the NHS work better”.
Dr. Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Emergency Medicine, said the numbers “are not a surprise.” He said: “There is a growing number of patients waiting more than 12 hours in the emergency room. [emergency departments] is of particular concern, reflecting the lack of flow in hospitals and, in particular, the problem of access to beds in emergency departments.
“These delays are particularly affecting the elderly and debilitated patients. There will be no significant recovery or improvement in emergency and emergency care until emergency clinics along with emergency departments can provide quality and timely care to acutely ill patients with excellent flow through the system.
Saffron Corderi, acting CEO of NHS Providers, said: “Trusts are busier than ever as emergency room visits and delayed discharges hit an all-time high. With pressure on the NHS from nearly every quarter, trust leaders are facing extraordinary seasonal challenges amid ongoing strikes that show no sign of resolution.
“This is exacerbated by the fact that bed occupancy remains not only above safe levels, but also at the highest levels on record, with more than 14,000 patients remaining hospitalized daily if they are medically able to leave the hospital. caring shows capacity.
“It is critical that the £250 million funding announced by the government earlier this week to free up beds and ease pressure on the NHS goes to the front lines without delay.”
More NHS strikes are scheduled this month, with nurses due to leave next Wednesday and Thursday, and another ambulance strike a week later on January 23, putting more pressure on hospitals.
NHS National Medical Director Prof Sir Stephen Powys said: “While staff have responded to record 999 emergency room visits and 911 ambulance calls as the ‘tweendemic’ has resulted in an unprecedented level of respiratory disease at the hospital, they do continue to also serve patients with more people than ever undergoing diagnostic tests and cancer treatment.
“These numbers show how hard our employees are working not only under extreme pressure, but also to clean up Covid residues and test more people for cancer than ever before in a month.”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.