A&E crowding associated with hundreds of deaths each week

Severe overcrowding and corridor care in hospital emergency departments may be contributing to hundreds of deaths across the UK each week, new research suggests.

The study examined 19,034 patients treated at 134 A&E departments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland during five periods in 2025. Researchers compared the number of patients dying within 28 days with departmental occupancy levels when they received care.

A&E departments were operating at an average of 175% occupancy, meaning they were caring for significantly more patients than their designated clinical spaces could accommodate. For every 10% rise in occupancy, the risk of death within 28 days increased by 1%.

Researchers estimated that overcrowding could have contributed to 554 deaths a week during the study period when compared with departments operating with one clinical space for each patient. However, they acknowledged considerable uncertainty, with the plausible estimate ranging from 33 to 1,083 deaths.

Providing care in corridors and other unsuitable spaces was also associated with increased mortality. Researchers said overcrowding can make it more difficult for staff to monitor patients and deliver timely treatment, particularly when people cannot be moved to wards because beds are unavailable.

The findings show an association rather than proving that overcrowding directly caused every additional death. Further research is needed to confirm the scale of the risk, but researchers said reducing crowding could save lives.

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