Imagine waiting in a hospital emergency room for over 12 hours! 😱 Sounds unbearable, right? Well, a recent study in the UK found that in 2023, more than 1.5 million patients had to endure such long waits in Accident and Emergency (A&E) units, leading to approximately 14,000 excess deaths.
The research, released on Monday by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), used a method called the Standard Mortality Ratio. This fancy term calculates that for every 72 patients who wait between 8 to 12 hours before being admitted, there's sadly one additional death.
Dr. Adrian Boyle, president of the RCEM, expressed deep concern over these findings. \"We talk here about ratios and calculations, but it's vital to remember that each one of these deaths was a person with loved ones and families who will forever be left asking 'what if',\" he said.
In an effort to tackle this crisis, Britain's National Health Service (NHS) had set a target: by March 2024, 76% of patients should be admitted, transferred, or discharged within four hours. But in February 2024, only 56.5% met this goal—a drop of 1.5 percentage points since the plan was announced. 📉
\"We cannot continue with these inequalities in care, avoidable delays, and deaths,\" Boyle urged. He called for \"substantial investment and a commitment to resuscitating emergency care\" for both healthcare workers and patients.
This situation highlights a critical issue in the UK's healthcare system. It's a wake-up call that emphasizes the need for immediate action to prevent further loss of life. 🏥❤️
Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story!
Reference(s):
Research finds 14,000 excess deaths relating to long A&E waits in UK
cgtn.com
