More than 1,300 patients in England are dying each month as a result of prolonged waits in emergency departments, according to new estimates from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM). The figures indicate that the number of such deaths has increased tenfold over the past decade.

RCEM analysis suggests that more than 300 deaths per week in 2025 were associated with lengthy stays in Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments, compared with approximately 30 deaths per week in 2015.

RCEM President Dr. Ian Higginson said the growing number of preventable deaths highlights a deepening crisis in emergency care.

“We have to ask why this terrible issue is not at the center of continuous political attention,” he said. “The number of deaths associated with long stays in emergency departments clearly shows that the system is failing the very patients it is supposed to serve.”

The estimates are based on a 2021 study published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, which examined data from more than five million NHS patients. Researchers found that for every 72 patients who spent between eight and twelve hours in A&E before being admitted to a hospital bed, one additional death occurred. The risk of death began to increase after five hours and rose further as waiting times lengthened.

Using this methodology, RCEM estimated that 15,860 excess deaths in 2025 were linked to extended emergency department waits. Although slightly lower than the 16,644 deaths estimated for 2024, the figure remains nearly ten times higher than the 1,657 recorded in 2015.

Dr. Higginson said overcrowding and capacity shortages continue to undermine patient care.

“As emergency physicians, it is heartbreaking to see patients arrive in urgent need while we are unable to provide timely care because departments are full,” he said. “At the same time, staff are often encouraged to focus on improving performance statistics rather than prioritizing the sickest patients.”

He argued that authorities have failed to address the underlying causes of the crisis, relying instead on short-term measures that have repeatedly proven ineffective.

While welcoming government pledges to eliminate corridor care, Higginson stressed that meaningful progress would require reducing prolonged admission delays.

Prof. Nicola Ranger, General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing, described the death toll as a long-standing healthcare catastrophe.

She called for comprehensive reforms, including increased investment in hospital beds, nursing staff, primary care services, community healthcare, and social care capacity.

Dr. Vicky Price, President of the Society for Acute Medicine, described the deaths as a “national shame” and warned that emergency department overcrowding continues to worsen.

The UK Department of Health and Social Care acknowledged that long waits for emergency treatment are unacceptable and expressed sympathy for families who have lost loved ones.

A department spokesperson said that although A&E waiting times are currently at their lowest level in five years, additional improvements are needed. The government has committed more than £215 million to establish or expand 40 same-day emergency care and urgent treatment centers across England to ease pressure on emergency departments.

Officials also said specialist teams are being deployed to NHS trusts experiencing the most severe corridor care problems as part of efforts to eliminate the practice.