Staggering number of people killed by delays in A&Es last year revealed

DELAYS in A&E killed 23,000 people last year, shocking figures show.

Doctors at the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said that a record 1.65million visits to casualty in England took 12 hours or more in 2022.

They estimate the dangerous waits contributed to 23,003 excess deaths.

The figure was more than double that of 2021 and five times that of 2020.

Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the RCEM, said: “This data is shocking.

“Long waiting times are associated with serious patient harm and patient deaths — the scale shown here is deeply distressing.”

An NHS England spokesman said: “We are focused on improving patient flow through emergency departments.”

Hospital and ambulance delays hit record highs last year.

Response times for stroke and heart attack 999 calls reached a risky 92 minutes in December.

A report by the Healthcare Safety Investigation branch found the pressure is driving 111 and 999 call handlers to tears.

The report said it was common for staff “to worry about ‘How many people are we going to kill today?’ due to their frustration and sadness at not being able to send ambulances”.

PM Rishi Sunak has pledged to improve NHS waiting times as a priority this year.