Overcrowding in A&E linked to 'hundreds of deaths' every week, study finds

Overcrowding in accident and emergency (A&E) departments and corridor care is linked to hundreds of deaths every week in the UK, a new study has found.

A review of more than 19,000 adult patients found that, for every 10% increase in emergency department occupancy, the chance of dying in the following 28 days rose by 1%. The work was carried out at 134 A&Es in Wales, Northern Ireland and England last year, and presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress in France.

For the research, occupancy was calculated by how many spaces, such as cubicles, the A&E department had compared with how many patients were being treated. Results indicated that, on average, emergency departments were operating at 175% occupancy, a marker of overcrowding.

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Source: ITV News, 25 September 2026

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