Winter bearing down on EDs amid lack of political action to tackle crisis

19 December 2024

Year-on-year, there are four times as many people who have been hospitalised for flu so far in December 2024.

And Emergency Medicine clinicians are still waiting for the government to act to mitigate the winter crisis in their A&Es as the pressure facing Urgent and Emergency Care continues to intensify.

That’s the response from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine to the latest NHS England winter ‘situation reports’ which have been published today – 19 December 2024.

The figures, which cover 9 December – 15 December 2024, show: 

• There has been a sharp rise in the number of people needing hospitalisation for flu – 2,498 patients were in major A&Es, four times the number compared to the same week last year 

• There were 91,563 patients who arrived at EDs by ambulance, the highest number compared to the same week since 2019 

• The total bed occupancy rate in hospitals across the country was 94.2% – the level considered ‘safe’ is 85% 

• On average, 12, 475 patients remained in hospital each day even though they were deemed medically well enough to be discharged 

• The average daily number of staff absences in acute trusts was 54,166, which is 4,390 more than the same week last year  

Dr Adrian Boyle, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said, “Its clear winter is bearing down on the whole health service.

“While we welcome the NHS opening more beds than ever before for this time of year, it’s not enough. Thousands of people, who are well enough to go home, are stranded in hospital because the support needed for them to do so was not there.

“These patients are lying in beds which could be used by a person who is waiting to be admitted from A&E, watching the clock tick by on a trolley in a corridor.

“Without flow across the hospital network this winter, overcrowding and so called ‘corridor care’ will only be exacerbated, and wait times will soar.

“And we know extreme long stays are associated with patient harm – with nearly 14,000 excess deaths associated with these waits in 2023.

“It’s going to be a tough festive season for staff in Emergency Departments, but our doors will be open, and the lights will be on 24/7, with staff ready to care for people needing urgent medical care.”

Graphs illustrating the data can be found can be found here.