More than 150,000 emergency room patients had to wait more than 24 hours last year before they could get a hospital bed, figures show

More than 150,000 patients had to wait more than 24 hours in emergency rooms last year before they could get a hospital bed, a tenfold increase since 2019, new figures show.

Older and frail patients were hardest hit by the long wait; approximately two-thirds of the 150,000 patients were over 65 years of age.

Senior doctors warned that the long wait was likely to lead to patient deaths as delays in the NHS continue to worsen.

NHS leaders have acknowledged the problem and said they were exploring alternative ways to treat people without requiring hospital admissions.

According to official data, almost 40,000 patients have to wait 12 hours in emergency rooms for a bed every month – a fifty-fold increase on pre-pandemic levels and a six hundred-fold increase since 2015.

New figures obtained through Freedom of Information requests from the Liberal Democrats show that 153,000 patients in 73 hospitals waited more than 24 hours in emergency departments last year before a bed could be found for them.

The data, reported in The Times, only covers those patients who needed a hospital bed after an emergency room visit, and not those who could be treated and sent home.

This figure has increased tenfold compared to 2019, when only 15,000 patients waited more than 24 hours for a bed.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: ‘It is devastating that so many elderly and vulnerable people are being forced to endure this terrifying wait as our health service teeters on the brink of collapse.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: ‘It is appalling that so many elderly and vulnerable people are being forced to endure this terrifying wait as our health service teeters on the brink.’

“Behind each of these figures is a story of someone waiting in pain and worrying about getting the care they need.”

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine estimates that more than 250 patients a week died last year due to emergency department delays.

East Kent hospitals had the worst figures of all trusts providing figures, with more than 14,000 patients waiting more than a day.

An NHS spokeswoman said: ‘Last year, NHS staff faced significant demand – 393,000 more A&E and 217,000 more emergency admissions compared to 2022 – on top of unprecedented industrial action, high bed occupancy and the usual pressures caused by seasonal illnesses including Covid and flu .’

However, she stressed that “significant progress” has been made for patients with measures such as same-day emergency care.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: ‘Our urgent care recovery plan, supported by £1 billion in 2023-2024, has added 5,000 extra hospital beds and rolled out 10,000 hospital wards to help people receive treatment in the comfort of their own country. houses.’