Latest news with #DrAdrianBoyle
Telegraph
28-06-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Record 500,000 patients spend 24 hours in A&E
A record number of almost half a million patients spent 24 hours in A&E last year, statistics show. Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), said the figures were 'a source of national shame', fuelling thousands of deaths. He raised concerns that the Government's 10-year health plan, to be published next week, would not take sufficient action to tackle A&E overcrowding – and could even make it worse. NHS data, disclosed under freedom of information laws, show long trolley waits have surged, leaving casualty units increasingly crowded and dangerous. The statistics show that in 2024 there were 478,901 waits of 24 hours or more in major A&E units in England – a rise of 27 per cent on the previous year. The extra 100,482 cases bring the total to the highest yearly figure on record. Meanwhile, quarterly figures for England show bed occupancy is also at a record high, with 92.5 per cent of general and acute beds occupied. Analysis by the RCEM found that there were more than 16,600 deaths associated with long A&E waits before admission in England last year – an increase of 20 per cent in one year. Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, has said the 10-year health plan will mean major shifts, including moving more care from hospitals to the community and from dealing with sickness to prevention But Dr Boyle said he was concerned that the proposals would lack 'meaningful action' to tackle the existing crisis in A&E. In an interview with The Telegraph, the senior doctor said: 'I think there is magical thinking about reducing demand in emergency departments.' 'One of the big missions is to have a shift from sickness to prevention, and that's a perfectly sensible idea – everyone would agree with it. 'But people are still going to get sick, and need emergency care. I'm not hearing anything about meaningful action to tackle long stays in A&E.' Dr Boyle expressed concern that attempts to shift care out of hospitals and into the community will be too risky, if bed numbers are cut before a reduction in demand is seen. He said senior figures in emergency medicine were increasingly uneasy about a lack of focus on tackling long waits in A&E, with hospital bed occupancy at an all-time high. 'We are hearing nothing about increasing capacity – which would mean fixing social care or increasing the number of hospital beds,' he said. 'In fact it seems the aspiration is fewer beds, and as bed numbers fall, waits of 12 hours and more are rising.' The senior medic said too many patients, especially the old and frail, were being condemned to long A&E stays 'in a system which is making them sicker'. The figures on 24-hour trolley waits 'should be a source of national shame', he said. Dr Boyle said the NHS focus on four-hour targets meant that cases which could not be resolved quickly, especially those in need of admission, too often ended up facing dangerously long waits. He said: 'This is the result of the wrong policy, which is an exclusive focus on the four-hour standard, neglecting those patients who need admission. 'We know that this is harmful. We know that last year, there were at least 16,000 excess deaths associated with long stays in English departments. 'The majority of these people are elderly. They come to us when they're sick, and actually we're in a system which is making them sicker. People are dying as a consequence of this.' Previous analysis of NHS data has found that patients in their 90s suffer the longest delays in A&E, with length of stay rising by age. 'Very unambitious' Dr Boyle said the RCEM was keen to see more focus on preventive healthcare, and efforts to keep people out of hospital. He feared, however, that Labour's plan would set out aspirations rather than set out a meaningful route to making it happen. Earlier this month the Government and NHS England published an Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for England that vowed to make progress on eliminating 'corridor care'. The plan said waits of 12 hours or more should occur 'less than 10 per cent of the time'. Current performance is already close to this level, May data shows. Dr Boyle said the target was 'very unambitious'. 'What they're saying is we're happy to tolerate corridor care for another year,' he said.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
320 A&E patients die needlessly every week linked to hospital bed waits
Some 320 patients a week may have died needlessly in England last year due to very long waits in A&E for a hospital bed, figures suggest. Calculations by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) estimate there were more than 16,600 deaths of patients linked to long waits for a bed, an increase of a fifth on 2023. RCEM's president, Dr Adrian Boyle, said the figures were 'the equivalent of two aeroplanes crashing every week' and were devastating for families. He said: 'I am at a loss as how to adequately describe the scale of this figure. 'To give it some context, it is the equivalent of two aeroplanes crashing every week. 'It's sobering, heartbreaking, devastating and more. Because this is so much more than just data and statistics. 'Each number represents a person – a dearly loved family member, grandparents, parents, siblings and friends – who has died because of a system in crisis. 'These were patients who were stuck in emergency departments, watching the clock tick by as they waited extremely long hours, often on a trolley in a corridor, for an in-patient bed to become available for them.' Dr Boyle will discuss the findings at the launch of the newly formed All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Emergency Care. The group, chaired by Labour MP Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, an A&E doctor, has said it will look first at the harm caused to patients by delays and 'corridor care'. Last year, more than 1.7 million patients waited 12 hours or more to be admitted, discharged or transferred from A&E. Of these, 69.2% were waiting to be admitted to a ward for further care, the RCEM said. For its excess death estimates, the RCEM uses a study of more than five million NHS patients published in the Emergency Medicine Journal (EMJ) in 2021. This found there was one excess death for every 72 patients that spent eight to 12 hours in an A&E department prior to being found a bed. The risk of death started to increase after five hours and got worse with longer waiting times. Using this method, RCEM estimates there were 16,644 excess deaths in 2024 related to stays of 12 hours or more. This is the equivalent of 320 lives lost every week and up 20% on the 13, 919 the previous year. Dr Boyle said the methodology only applies to one group of NHS patients and 'we know there may well be many more tragic deaths linked to long stays.' He added: 'For example, patients left waiting for urgent medical care in the community because ambulances can't safely hand over their patients in emergency departments because they are full, or those too anxious to seek help with they should. 'The issue also affects A&E staff who are trying their best to deliver care in areas that are designed to be throughfares – not treatment spaces. 'Ultimately, the emergency care crisis is fixable. It's all about flow – getting patients into to a ward bed when they need one and home again as soon as they are well enough to leave. 'How best to do this, will be considered by the APPG and we look forward to working with the MPs and peers who have joined as members to resuscitate emergency care.' Dr Boyle will tell the launch event that almost half a million (478,901) patients waited more than 24 hours in A&E last year – one in every 35 patients attending. He will say this is 100,410 more people compared to 2023. Dr Allin-Khan said: 'These statistics make for sobering reading. Ever-increasing numbers of excess deaths and long wait times in our emergency departments are simply not sustainable. 'As an emergency doctor, I know exactly how stretched our A&Es across the country are, as I see it on a weekly basis on my shifts. 'The Government have pledged to fix the foundations of our public services and our A&Es must be at the front and centre of this ambition. 'There has never been an APPG for Emergency Care before and this is exactly the vehicle needed to bring together industry experts, legislators and the Government to move things forward. 'I look forward to working with RCEM and the Government constructively to bring these numbers down, ensuring everyone receives the best quality care, with the dignity they deserve.' Dr Nick Murch, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said the figures represented a 'profound failure within our healthcare system', adding: 'It is simply shocking to see such a large number of deaths associated with excess waits in emergency departments, but, tragically, the warning signs have been present for far too long. 'We must ensure that 12-hour waits in emergency departments again become an infrequent exception rather than the norm and that will require urgent and adequate action on workforce and capacity issues which remain unresolved.' A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'This report lays bare the crisis in NHS waiting times we inherited, with patients suffering unacceptable delays for urgent treatment. It will be a long road to fix our NHS, but we are doing the work to get us there. 'It's why we are investing an extra £26 billion to reform the health service and make it fit for the future through our plan for change. 'This includes shifting services from hospital to community to ease pressure on A&E departments, on top of recruiting an extra 1,000 GPs to reach patients earlier and move towards prevention.'
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Hundreds of A&E patients needlessly die every week while waiting for hospital beds
Around 320 patients a week may have died avoidably in England last year due to excessive waits for hospital beds in Accident and Emergency departments. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) estimates more than 16,600 deaths were linked to these delays, a sobering increase of 20 per cent compared to 2023. Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the RCEM, described the figures as "the equivalent of two aeroplanes crashing every week," highlighting the devastating impact on families. He will present these findings at the launch of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Emergency Care, underscoring the urgent need for action to address this critical issue. 'I am at a loss as how to adequately describe the scale of this figure', Dr Boyle remarked. 'To give it some context, it is the equivalent of two aeroplanes crashing every week. 'It's sobering, heartbreaking, devastating and more. Because this is so much more than just data and statistics. 'Each number represents a person – a dearly loved family member, grandparents, parents, siblings and friends – who has died because of a system in crisis. 'These were patients who were stuck in emergency departments, watching the clock tick by as they waited extremely long hours, often on a trolley in a corridor, for an in-patient bed to become available for them.' All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Emergency Care, chaired by Labour MP Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, an A&E doctor, has said it will look first at the harm caused to patients by delays and 'corridor care'. Last year, more than 1.7 million patients waited 12 hours or more to be admitted, discharged or transferred from A&E. Of these, 69.2 per cent were waiting to be admitted to a ward for further care, the RCEM said. For its excess death estimates, the RCEM uses a study of more than five million NHS patients published in the Emergency Medicine Journal (EMJ) in 2021. This found there was one excess death for every 72 patients that spent eight to 12 hours in an A&E department prior to being found a bed. The risk of death started to increase after five hours and got worse with longer waiting times. Using this method, RCEM estimates there were 16,644 excess deaths in 2024 related to stays of 12 hours or more. This is the equivalent of 320 lives lost every week and up 20 per cent on the 13, 919 the previous year. Dr Boyle said the methodology only applies to one group of NHS patients and 'we know there may well be many more tragic deaths linked to long stays.' He added: 'For example, patients left waiting for urgent medical care in the community because ambulances can't safely hand over their patients in emergency departments because they are full, or those too anxious to seek help with they should. 'The issue also affects A&E staff who are trying their best to deliver care in areas that are designed to be throughfares – not treatment spaces. 'Ultimately, the emergency care crisis is fixable. It's all about flow – getting patients into to a ward bed when they need one and home again as soon as they are well enough to leave. 'How best to do this, will be considered by the APPG and we look forward to working with the MPs and peers who have joined as members to resuscitate emergency care.' Dr Boyle will tell the launch event that almost half a million (478,901) patients waited more than 24 hours in A&E last year – one in every 35 patients attending. He will say this is 100,410 more people compared to 2023. Dr Allin-Khan said: 'These statistics make for sobering reading. Ever-increasing numbers of excess deaths and long wait times in our emergency departments are simply not sustainable. 'As an emergency doctor, I know exactly how stretched our A&Es across the country are, as I see it on a weekly basis on my shifts. 'The Government have pledged to fix the foundations of our public services and our A&Es must be at the front and centre of this ambition. 'There has never been an APPG for Emergency Care before and this is exactly the vehicle needed to bring together industry experts, legislators and the Government to move things forward. 'I look forward to working with RCEM and the Government constructively to bring these numbers down, ensuring everyone receives the best quality care, with the dignity they deserve.' Dr Nick Murch, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said the figures represented a 'profound failure within our healthcare system', adding: 'It is simply shocking to see such a large number of deaths associated with excess waits in emergency departments, but, tragically, the warning signs have been present for far too long. 'We must ensure that 12-hour waits in emergency departments again become an infrequent exception rather than the norm and that will require urgent and adequate action on workforce and capacity issues which remain unresolved.' A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'This report lays bare the crisis in NHS waiting times we inherited, with patients suffering unacceptable delays for urgent treatment. It will be a long road to fix our NHS, but we are doing the work to get us there. 'It's why we are investing an extra £26 billion to reform the health service and make it fit for the future through our plan for change. 'This includes shifting services from hospital to community to ease pressure on A&E departments, on top of recruiting an extra 1,000 GPs to reach patients earlier and move towards prevention.'
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Top doctor warns government ‘neglecting' old people as figures suggest thousands of A&E patients died waiting for bed
The UK's top A&E doctor has accused the government of 'neglecting the oldest and sickest patients' as figures suggest a record 320 people a week may have died needlessly in A&E last year due to waits for hospital beds. Dr Adrian Boyle, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine president, has warned that current government policy on A&E is focused on cutting waits for 'cut fingers and sprained ankles' while neglecting older people, who are most likely to die and spend days on trollies. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) estimates there were more than 16,600 deaths of patients linked to long waits for a bed, an increase of a fifth on 2023 and a record since new A&E data has been published. The figures come after the NHS 's target to see 95 per cent of patients within four hours was cut to 78 per cent for 2025/26. There is no national target for the number of people waiting 12 hours, the length of time linked to excess emergency care deaths, but last year more than 1.7 million patients waited 12 hours or more to be admitted, discharged or transferred from A&E. Dr Boyle said the figures were 'the equivalent of two aeroplanes crashing every week' and were devastating for families. He told The Independent: 'Government policy, the 78 per cent threshold, is effectively neglecting our oldest and sickest patients. 'What this is doing is leaving behind the people who are sick and need to be admitted to hospital beds, and all the focus is on performance in the urgent treatment centres, the minor injury units, and the people who can be discharged home.' He added: 'I think the public is losing confidence in the emergency care system. And we're seeing that people are staying away from emergency departments because they're frightened about suffering these long stays.' Dr Boyle will discuss the findings at the launch of the newly formed All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Emergency Care. He added: 'I am at a loss as to how to adequately describe the scale of this figure. To give it some context, it is the equivalent of two aeroplanes crashing every week. 'It's sobering, heartbreaking, devastating and more. Because this is so much more than just data and statistics.' The group, chaired by Labour MP Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, an A&E doctor, has said it will look first at the harm caused to patients by delays and 'corridor care'. Of these, 69.2 per cent were waiting to be admitted to a ward for further care, the RCEM said. For its excess death estimates, the RCEM uses a study of more than five million NHS patients published in the Emergency Medicine Journal (EMJ) in 2021. This found that there was one excess death for every 72 patients that spent eight to 12 hours in an A&E department before being found a bed. The risk of death started to increase after five hours and got worse with longer waiting times. Using this method, RCEM estimates there were 16,644 excess deaths in 2024 related to stays of 12 hours or more. Dr Allin-Khan said: 'These statistics make for sobering reading. Ever-increasing numbers of excess deaths and long wait times in our emergency departments are simply not sustainable. 'As an emergency doctor, I know exactly how stretched our A&Es across the country are, as I see it on a weekly basis on my shifts. 'The government have pledged to fix the foundations of our public services, and our A&Es must be at the front and centre of this ambition. 'There has never been an APPG for Emergency Care before, and this is exactly the vehicle needed to bring together industry experts, legislators and the Government to move things forward. 'I look forward to working with RCEM and the Government constructively to bring these numbers down, ensuring everyone receives the best quality care, with the dignity they deserve.'
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Needless deaths due to long waits in A&E are like TWO plane crashes every week, damning study suggests
More than 16,600 patients suffered needless deaths in England last year due to very long waits in A&E, a damning study suggests. Analysis by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said the alarming toll - equal to 320 deaths a week - is a fifth higher than in 2023. The victims came to harm after being left to languish on a trolley while doctors waited for a bed to become available on a ward. Dr Adrian Boyle, the College's president, said: 'I am at a loss as how to adequately describe the scale of this figure. 'To give it some context, it is the equivalent of two aeroplanes crashing every week. 'It's sobering, heartbreaking, devastating and more. Because this is so much more than just data and statistics. 'Each number represents a person – a dearly loved family member, grandparents, parents, siblings and friends – who has died because of a system in crisis. 'These were patients who were stuck in emergency departments, watching the clock tick by as they waited extremely long hours, often on a trolley in a corridor, for an in-patient bed to become available for them.' Dr Boyle will discuss the findings today [THU] at the launch of the newly formed All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Emergency Care. The group, chaired by Labour MP Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, an A&E doctor, has said it will look first at the harm caused to patients by delays and 'corridor care'. Last year, more than 1.7 million patients waited 12 hours or more to be admitted, discharged or transferred from A&E. Of these, 69.2 per cent were waiting to be admitted to a ward for further care, the RCEM said. For its excess death estimates, the RCEM uses a study of more than five million NHS patients published in the Emergency Medicine Journal (EMJ) in 2021. This found there was one excess death for every 72 patients that spent eight to 12 hours in an A&E department prior to being found a bed. The risk of death from any cause within 30 days started to increase after five hours and got worse with longer waiting times. Using this method, RCEM estimates there were 16,644 excess deaths in 2024 related to stays of 12 hours or more. This is the equivalent of 320 lives lost every week and up 20 per cent on the 13, 919 the previous year. A harrowing report by the Royal College of Nurses in January revealed how dead patients are lying undiscovered for hours in A&E as staff are too overstretched to notice. A severe shortage of beds means sick Britons are being left in 'animal-like' conditions in hospital carparks, cupboards and toilets. It featured the testimonies of more than 5,000 nurses, who exposed how they are caring for as many as 40 patients in a single corridor - some blocking fire exits or parked next to vending machines. There, they have no access to a call bell, oxygen or lifesaving equipment and are often out of sight of the nursing station. Dr Boyle said the research only applies to one group of NHS patients and 'we know there may well be many more tragic deaths linked to long stays'. He added: 'For example, patients left waiting for urgent medical care in the community because ambulances can't safely hand over their patients in emergency departments because they are full, or those too anxious to seek help with they should. 'The issue also affects A&E staff who are trying their best to deliver care in areas that are designed to be throughfares – not treatment spaces. More than 16,600 patients suffered needless deaths in England last year due to very long waits in A&E, a damning study suggests 'Ultimately, the emergency care crisis is fixable. It's all about flow – getting patients into to a ward bed when they need one and home again as soon as they are well enough to leave. 'How best to do this, will be considered by the APPG and we look forward to working with the MPs and peers who have joined as members to resuscitate emergency care.' Dr Boyle will tell the launch event that almost half a million (478,901) patients waited more than 24 hours in A&E last year – one in every 35 patients attending. He will say this is 100,410 more people compared to 2023. Dr Allin-Khan said: 'These statistics make for sobering reading. 'Ever-increasing numbers of excess deaths and long wait times in our emergency departments are simply not sustainable.' Dr Nick Murch, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said the figures represented a 'profound failure within our healthcare system', adding: 'It is simply shocking to see such a large number of deaths associated with excess waits in emergency departments, but, tragically, the warning signs have been present for far too long. 'We must ensure that 12-hour waits in emergency departments again become an infrequent exception rather than the norm and that will require urgent and adequate action on workforce and capacity issues which remain unresolved.' A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'This report lays bare the crisis in NHS waiting times we inherited, with patients suffering unacceptable delays for urgent treatment. It will be a long road to fix our NHS, but we are doing the work to get us there. 'It's why we are investing an extra £26 billion to reform the health service and make it fit for the future through our plan for change. 'This includes shifting services from hospital to community to ease pressure on A&E departments, on top of recruiting an extra 1,000 GPs to reach patients earlier and move towards prevention.'
