Posted 15 January 2024 - 15:00
Posted 15 January 2024 - 15:00
News
Crisis in the ED: 12-hour trolley waits soar in 2023
Government accused of running NHS emergency departments into the ground as undignified 12-hour waits increase by 50-fold since 2019 amid chronic staff shortages
Government accused of running NHS emergency departments into the ground as undignified 12-hour waits increase by 50-fold since 2019 amid chronic staff shortages
A record number of patients had to wait more than 12 hours for emergency department (ED) care last year, prompting fresh concerns that chronic staff shortages leave people ‘suffering for hours’.
Trolley waits more than 50 times higher than 2019
Analysis by the Liberal Democrats of the latest NHS England figures shows 419,560 people faced so-called ‘trolley waits’ of 12 hours or more in 2023. This equates to an average of 1,150 patients a day and marks the highest number since the figures started being recorded in 2011.
It is a 21% increase from 2022, when 348,135 people faced lengthy delays and a more than 50-fold increase since 2019 when 8,272 patients waited more than 12 hours in the ED
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey criticised the delays and accused the government of ‘ignoring the suffering of patients and driving our health service into the ground’.
He said: ‘Every year ED delays are getting worse and worse under this Conservative government as hospitals are starved of the resources and staff they need. These appalling delays are leaving often vulnerable and elderly patients waiting for hours on end in overcrowded EDs.’
Undignified delays to care cause nurses to feel ‘profound sense of moral injury’, says RCN
The RCN echoed the party’s concerns, warning that the delays were undignified for patients and nurses, many of whom were finishing their shifts with a ‘profound sense of moral injury’.
RCN director for England Patricia Marquis said: ‘Behind the numbers are people suffering for hours – with no privacy and left in danger of their health drastically deteriorating. It’s undignified for patients and nurses, who are doing everything possible but are left desperate by being unable to deliver safe care. Many finish their shifts with a profound sense of moral injury.
‘The root of the problem goes far beyond the ED doors. This isn’t about more hospital beds; it’s about recruiting and retaining the nurses to staff them.’
University of Hull reader in critical care Nicki Credland labelled the figures ‘simply unacceptable’.
She told Nursing Standard: ‘The government’s disregard of the need to provide safe staffing levels means patients are not getting the care they deserve and nursing staff are not able to deliver the standard of care they want to.’
Department of Health and Social Care claims waiting times are being reduced
Nurses have long raised fears of being struck off or taken to court for providing patient care in corridors. ED nurses shared their experiences of overcrowded hospitals at the RCN’s annual congress in Brighton last May.
The Department of Health and Social Care insisted its Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services was cutting ED waits from last year. It has provided £800 million to support NHS capacity this winter.
A spokesperson said: ‘We are on track to deliver an additional 5,000 permanently staffed hospital beds this winter and have met our target to deliver 10,000 virtual ward beds, allowing patients to recover from the comfort of familiar surroundings.’
Find out more
A breakdown of the Liberal Democrats analysis
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