Emergency services are in crisis, but nursing staff shine through
The Care Quality Commission’s Urgent and Emergency Care Survey 2024 reveals the crisis and delays in the ED, but patient/staff interactions are highly valued

The biennial Care Quality Commission report, Urgent and Emergency Care Survey 2024, holds no surprises about the situation nurses working in these settings find themselves in daily.
The report captured the views and experiences of more than 45,500 people, aged 16 and older, who sought care in an emergency department (ED) or an urgent treatment centre (UTC) in February 2024.
It found 74% of patients were not told how long they would have to wait in the ED to be examined or treated and 64% waited more than four hours to be admitted, transferred or discharged.
Of the 27% respondents who arrived at an ED by ambulance, 61% were handed over to staff within 15 minutes, but 17% reported waiting more than one hour.
More than one quarter of ED patients (28%) waited for more than an hour to be assessed, while 47% said they were not able to get help with their condition or symptoms while waiting.
Urgent and emergency care nurses should be proud of positive patient/staff interactions
These figures will not shock nurses who are dealing with so-called winter pressures all year round, doing their best to meet targets and provide the best possible care to their patients.
‘Patients value and appreciate your compassion and hard work despite the shortcomings of the system, and that should be the resounding message of motivation you take with you into the new year’
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine said they are indicative of ‘an urgent and emergency care system that is in crisis’.
But despite this ongoing crisis, there is one big positive: patient interactions with staff.
More than one third (38%) of respondents who attended an ED rated their overall experience as nine or higher out of ten, while 60% said they felt that nurses or doctors ‘completely’ explained their condition or treatment to them in a way that they could understand.
In addition 80% of UTC respondents felt that staff ‘definitely’ listened to what they had to say and 76% said they ‘definitely’ had enough time to discuss their condition and treatment.
These findings will hopefully provide a much-needed (and well-deserved) morale boost to nurses at what is traditionally a busy and exhausting time of year.
Patients value and appreciate your compassion and hard work despite the shortcomings of the system, and that should be the resounding message of motivation you take with you into the new year.
Find out more
Care Quality Commission (2024) Urgent and Emergency Care Survey 2024
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