Long waits and excess deaths

The idea that emergency care services experience seasonal spikes in demand – so-called winter pressures is becoming a thing of the past. Instead, long waits have become the new norm year-round, and staff are caring for patients in unsafe conditions on a daily basis. It is well established that long waits are associated with patient harm and excess deaths. Last year the government published its plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services. A year on, far too many patients are still coming to avoidable harm.