Lack of political focus on winter UEC crisis ‘deeply concerning’ – RCEM

12 December 2024

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine says it is ‘deeply concerned’ about the lack of political attention on the pressure facing Urgent and Emergency Care systems as winter hits.

The College – which represents more the 13,000 front line Emergency Medicine clinicians – expressed its worries after new data from NHS England revealed a ‘tidal wave’ of infections leading to a 70% increase in hospital cases across just seven days.

The figures, which cover 2 December – 8 December 2024, are part of NHSE’s weekly winter ‘situation reports’. 

Released today – 12 December 2024 – they show: 

• An average of 1,861 patients were in hospital with flu every day last week – up from 1,099 the previous week – more than 40% up on the previous week and 3.5 times higher compared to the same time last year.  

• Norovirus cases (often referred to as the ‘winter vomiting bug’) are up 10% from last week and almost two thirds (64%) since last year 

• An average of 4,740 hours were lost each day due to ambulance handover delays, 5.6% higher than the same period last year 

• On average, 12,234 patients remained in hospital each day even though they were deemed medically well enough to be discharged

Separate A&E performance data also released today by NHSE show that in England last month, 150,696 patients waited 12 hours or more in major EDs – the second highest for any November on record.  This equates to more than one in every 10 attendances.

The figures also reveal:  

• There were 1,428,050 attendances to major EDS, the highest on record for the month of November 

• More than a quarter of patients (25.5%) had to wait more than four hours for a bed after a clinician decided they needed to be admitted 

• Only 57% of patients were transferred, admitted, or discharged within the target of four hours – the national standard is currently 78% (and previously 95%). This is the lowest since February this year 

• 408,170 people were admitted to hospital from major Emergency Departments, the highest for any November on record 

Dr Adrian Boyle, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said, “Winter has hit, and it’s hit hard.

“At every stage patients are experiencing issues and delays; waiting for ambulances, waiting in ambulances, waiting long hours in EDs – often on trolleys in corridors – because hospitals are full, and then left waiting to go home because the social care support needed is not there.

“While staff bear the brunt of navigating a system, which the government itself has described as ‘broken’, it is patients who are suffering and being put at risk.

“Thousands of people are enduring extreme long stays in the ED. This is where the serious harm occurs – with more than 14,000 excess deaths associated with these waits in 2023.

“Our members and their colleagues will get through this winter – which could well be worse than last year – as they always do. But we remain deeply concerned that this crisis is not top of the government’s urgent to do list, or receiving the attention it deserves.”