Long A&E waits for people who have paid into NHS all their lives ‘appalling’

Long A&E waits for people “who’ve paid into the NHS all of their lives” are “appalling”, the Health Secretary has said.

Wes Streeting said he was determined to make changes to A&E but the “scale of the challenge is one that can’t be fixed overnight or even within one year”.

He was responding after senior doctors warned of an “alarming threat to patient safety” after figures showed more than a million elderly people endure long waits in A&E – and the older they are, the more likely they are to experience it.

A report from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), shared with the PA news agency, shows that rising numbers of elderly and frail people are stuck in A&E, often on trolleys in corridors.

Figures obtained by the RCEM via the Freedom of Information Act show that 1.15 million people aged 60 and over waited more than 12 hours to be transferred, admitted or discharged in England’s major A&E departments last year.

This is a jump from the 991,068 in 2023 and about three times the figure for 2019, when 305,619 were affected.

Mr Streeting told Times Radio: “Anyone being stuck in A&E for that length of time is unacceptable, but for people who’ve spent their lives paying into the NHS and giving to our country is particularly appalling.

“None of us would want our parents or our grandparents being stuck in A&E for that length of time.

“That’s one of the reasons why we are going so hard at driving improvement in our NHS – whether that’s cutting waiting lists, as we’ve done in the last six months; the announcements we’re making today on general practice, so that people who don’t need A&E can actually get a GP appointment when they need one, which is I’m afraid too big (of) a driver of people going to emergency departments – they can’t see a GP; and later this month, we’ll be publishing our urgent and emergency care improvement plan.

“As I said during the peak of the winter crisis, when we saw those images of trolleys on corridors throughout the country and ambulance queues out the front (of hospitals), the scale of the challenge is one that can’t be fixed overnight or even within one year.

“But year-on-year, we want to see consistent improvement in our NHS, so that we can do away with corridor care, so that people are able to get GP appointments, operations, appointments and A&E when they need it, and to restore that fundamental promise that’s been broken, that the NHS will be there for all of us when we need it.”

However, Mr Streeting admitted people may still face trolley waits in A&E this winter.

He told LBC Radio: “No-one should be waiting that long in A&E but for people who’ve paid into the NHS all of their lives – our parents, our grandparents – no-one wants to see them in particular waiting so long in A&E departments…

“I want to see year-on-year improvements for people in emergency departments.

“I can’t promise in all honesty that this winter there won’t be people on trolleys in corridors and there won’t be people waiting far longer than I would like to see, but I do want to deliver year-on-year improvements to the situation in A&E.

“As you say, it is like turning a juggernaut, but it is turning in the right direction, it’s moving in the right direction finally, after all these years.”

The RCEM research found that the likelihood of experiencing a 12-hour wait in an emergency department increases with the age of the patient.

People aged 60-69 have a 15% chance of waiting 12 hours or more, whereas for those aged 90 and above, the likelihood rises to 33%.

Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the RCEM, said: “The healthcare system is failing our most vulnerable patients – more than a million last year.

“These people are our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents.

“They aren’t receiving the level of care they need, as they endure the longest stays in our emergency departments, often suffering degrading and dehumanising corridor care.

“It’s an alarming threat to patient safety.

“We know long stays are dangerous, especially for those who are elderly, and puts people’s lives at risk.”

The RCEM’s Quality Improvement Programme study received data from 149 emergency departments involving 24,865 patients.

Among patients over 75, the research found insufficient screening for three common conditions which frequently affect older people.

Although there have been some improvements, the report found:

– Only 16% of patients were screened for delirium – a reversible condition which is linked to increased risk of death and is noted by a sudden change in mental function.

– On average, fewer than half (48%) of patients were screened for their risk of falls.

– Just over half (56%) were screened for general frailty – which if picked up early can lead to prompt extra support in hospital and at home.

The report recommended changes, including “front door frailty screening” in every A&E. This is already being introduced across Scotland.