Revealed: Four-fold rise in emergency care deaths

The number of coroner warnings issued last year which were linked to a lack of capacity in emergency care was around four times that seen before covid.

HSJ analysis of “prevention of future deaths” reports – also known as Regulation 28 reports – show a steep rise since 2021 in deaths linked to long delays in ambulance responses, hospital handovers, and emergency department waits.

There were 52 in this category in 2023. The largest number pre-covid was 13 in 2018, although the rate also appeared to be slowly rising in the years running up to 2020.

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Source: HSJ, 28 May 2024