Overcrowding in A&E departments and corridor care is linked to hundreds of deaths every week in the UK, according to a new study.
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Overcrowding → link → study
A review of more than 19,000 adult patients found that, for every 10% increase in emergency department occupancy, the chance of dying in the following 28 days rose by 1%.
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chance → find → %
Dr Ryan McHenry, from the University of Glasgow, and an emergency medicine doctor in the west of Scotland, presented the study, which took place across a two-week period in March 2025 and reflects around 70% of emergency departments in Wales, Northern Ireland and England.
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which → present → Wales
He said: “We found that increased crowding in emergency departments is associated with increased mortality for patients admitted to hospital.
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crowding → say → hospital
“This is important because we know that emergency departments are now often very crowded, and reducing that crowding has the real potential to save lives.”
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reducing → know → lives
Dr McHenry told the Press Association how hundreds of deaths were linked to busy A&E departments every week.
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hundreds → tell → departments
He said around 550 deaths every week across all of England, Wales and Northern Ireland may be caused by overcrowding in emergency departments.
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deaths → say → departments
“Although we cover the majority of the emergency departments in the UK, this was still a relatively small study, and the possible range of expected deaths is therefore large; we estimate anywhere between 33 and 1,083 excess deaths are plausible,” he said.
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he → cover → deaths
For the research, occupancy was calculated by how many spaces, such as cubicles, the A&E department had compared with how many patients were being treated.
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patients → calculate → cubicles
Results indicated that, on average, emergency departments were operating at 175% occupancy, a marker of overcrowding.
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departments → indicate → overcrowding
Dr McHenry and his colleagues also looked at the impact of “corridor care” where patients receive treatment in non-standard clinical spaces such as corridors.
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patients → look → corridors
This was also linked to an increase in the risk of deaths at a similar rate as overcrowding, although the team said occupancy rate was much easier to measure and record.
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rate → link → overcrowding
Dr Felix Lorang, a member of the emergency medicine congress abstract selection committee, said: “Many emergency departments are operating far beyond capacity, and the ‘exit block’ — when patients are stuck in the emergency department because no inpatient ward beds are available – places an even greater burden on these emergency departments.
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beds → say → departments
“This makes it harder for doctors and nurses to deliver the treatment patients need, or even the minimum treatment required to prevent further harm.
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patients → make → harm
“This research makes it unmistakably clear to all of us – patients, medical professionals, and hospital managers alike – that overcrowding and corridor care mean many emergency patients will not survive.”
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patients → make → us
Dr Ian Higginson, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), said: “People are dying in association with overcrowding in emergency departments.
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People → say → departments
“This should be cause for alarm among policymakers, and yet we are not seeing any urgency.”
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we → see → urgency
He said the findings “add yet more evidence about this utterly normalised and unacceptable state of affairs”.
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findings → say → affairs
Dr Higginson added: “RCEM continues to call for the governments of the four UK nations to act to address the catastrophic effect overcrowding and long waits in our emergency departments on our patients – who are suffering harm and will continue to do so because of a failure to act.
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who → add → failure
“They must also recognise the impact that working in such conditions have on staff, who we risk losing in droves should the problem persist.”
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problem → recognise → droves
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The NHS faced the busiest summer in its history this year, but thanks to the incredible work of NHS staff, 75% of people in A&E were seen in four hours in August.
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% → say → August
“Overcrowding can have a serious impact on patients’ experience and safety, which is why we are taking urgent action to reduce pressure on emergency departments and end corridor care.
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we → have → care
“We know there is much more to do to reduce pressures on A&E departments, which is why we’re going further and faster to improve emergency care, deploying expert teams into the most challenged trusts and investing more than £1.5 billion in hospital buildings and facilities to help them withstand year-round pressure.
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them → know → pressure
“And by shifting more care into the community, we are helping people to get the care they need closer to home.”
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they → shift → home
The Aporia
