Hunger-driven A&E admissions spiral amid cost-of-living crisis

Hungry patients are overwhelming NHS emergency departments at unprecedented levels, researchers claim.

Admissions to hospital Accident and Emergency (A&E) units because of hunger have more than tripled, rising by nearly 219 per cent in five years, figures suggest.

Analysis of NHS data shows a lack of food was the fastest growing cause of A&E admissions in England between 2018-19 and 2023-24, as food prices and poverty spiralled.

As the cost-of-living crisis gripped the UK, experts repeatedly warned that households were being plunged into poverty, with food bank use soaring and charities finding parents going hungry so their children could eat.

Health experts warned in 2022 that millions of people were facing a “significant humanitarian crisis”, exacerbated by rocketing fuel bills.

Paula Lingard, of the ID Band Company, which analysed the NHS data, said: “The significant rise in admissions related to lack of food is particularly concerning and may reflect growing food insecurity in England, highlighting the importance of addressing basic needs as part of our approach to public health.”

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Source: The Independent, 20 August 2025