PATIENTS are more likely to die if they endure long waits in A&E before being admitted to a hospital bed, research by the Emergency Medicine Journal revealed today.

The study, which examined data from more than five million patients in England between April 2016 and March 2018, found that waiting longer than five hours in A&E increased the risk of dying from any cause within 30 days, with the risks going up the longer people waited.

For every 82 admitted patients who waited more than six to eight hours for a bed, there is one extra death, the researchers said.

A record 12,986 people had to wait more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England in December from a decision to admit to being admitted, according to NHS England data.

This is up from 10,646 in November and is the highest since records began in 2010.

Royal College of Emergency Medicine president Dr Katherine Henderson said: “The risk to patient safety is a growing problem. It is unacceptable and deeply concerning. No patient should be kept waiting to be admitted to a bed.”

She called on the government to commit to publishing a long-term workforce plan for the health service.

British Medical Association’s Dr Simon Walsh said: “This study used data from before the pandemic started and, sadly, we know that more patients are now waiting much longer than the target of four hours, with a huge increase in the number who are waiting over 12 hours to be seen and admitted.”

He blamed “decades of underinvestment” in the NHS “combined with a workforce crisis” for causing the problems.

An NHS spokesperson said that pressure on emergency departments was high and that the service was supporting trusts to better understand demands to reduce waiting times.