Overview
- Dr Ian Higginson of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine says only a few hospitals have avoided treating patients on trolleys in corridors, likely children’s services.
- He argues demand-diversion measures and NHS 111 cannot resolve the crisis without more staffed beds and stronger social care to speed discharge.
- RCEM estimates suggest more than 16,600 deaths last year were linked to very long waits in A&E for a hospital bed.
- Official NHS figures report 50,648 people in England waited over 12 hours from a decision to admit to admission in November.
- Health Secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to end corridor care by the next general election, while NHS England and the Department of Health call it unacceptable and cite year-on-year improvements in four-hour performance and ambulance response times.