A&E will be swamped by half of England’s population every year unless NHS reformed, warns top doctor

England’s top doctor has warned the equivalent of half the country’s population will be attending emergency departments every year within a decade unless more work is done to move healthcare out of hospitals.

NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said if the health system wants to avoid a situation of overcrowded A&Es by 2034 then it “must go for broke” by moving more care into communities.

A&Es in England faced the busiest year on record in 2024, with 27.42 million attendances across the year, 7.1 per cent higher than in 2023, according to NHS England.

In a speech at Liverpool Medical Institution on Wednesday evening, Professor Powis said caring for more patients outside of hospitals was key to reducing pressure on accident and emergency departments long term.

“Because we know that if A&E attendances increase at the same rate as they have over the past 10 years – NHS staff will need to manage six million more A&E attendances every year from 2034,” he is expected to say.

“That would mean the equivalent of almost half the population attend A&E at least once every year – that is simply not feasible for a 21st-century health system.

“If the NHS is to avoid a situation of overcrowded A&Es in 10 years’ time – we must go for broke in moving care from hospital to the community.”

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Source: The Independent, 22 January 2025