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A&E Waits Double Death Risk: NAO Report
9 Sep
Summary
- Patients waiting 12+ hours are twice as likely to die within 30 days.
- Over 14,000 patients faced delayed discharges in July.
- A&E attendance has surged to 28 million annually.
The National Audit Office (NAO) has revealed that patients enduring waits of 12 hours or more in A&E are twice as likely to die within 30 days of discharge. This mirrors the ongoing problem of 'corridor care' at hospital front doors, exacerbated by delayed discharges at the back. In July, a record average of over 14,000 patients faced delayed discharges, with approximately 2,300 patients receiving care in corridors each day.
Royal College of Emergency Medicine and Royal College of Nursing leaders expressed that these findings are unsurprising, citing years of underfunding in social care and significant pressures on staff. The human cost includes patients receiving intimate care or end-of-life news in full view of others. A&E demand has risen substantially, reaching 28 million attendances in 2025-26, up from 21.5 million in 2011-12.
While the NHS has seen gradual improvement post-pandemic, meeting the four-hour standard for only 74.9% of attendances in 2025-26, the cost per A&E attendance has risen by a third, adjusted for inflation, to £280 in 2024-25. The NAO recommends replicating successful approaches from high-performing trusts and improving hospital flow management to reduce internal delays and discharge wait times.
