How many excess deaths in England are associated with A&E delays?
The fact that the NHS is under enormous pressure is undisputed. Almost everything else is debated, including the question of how many patients are dying as a result of the chaos in hospitals.
The proportion of patients who wait more than 12 hours in A&E departments to be admitted to a ward has risen from 2% to 7% over the past year.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has estimated that delays in A&E are leading to 300-500 additional deaths per week. However, officials at NHS England do not accept this figure.
The data suggest that something is very awry.
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Source: The Economist, 11 January 2023