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Responding to Liberal Democrats’ data which the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RECM) says shows the number of patients waiting 12 hours or more in A&E and rising 100-fold since 2019, Dr Adrian Boyle, President of the RECM, said:
“We very much welcome the Liberal Democrats’ focus on this extremely important issue, and for responding to our request for more focus to be given by all political parties to the crisis happening right now in our A&E departments.
Dr Boyle continued:
“These figures, and our own research, clearly evidence the shameful and shocking reality of poorly patients who need to be cared for on hospital wards having to wait many hours, even days, often on trolleys in corridors because there is not enough capacity in the system.
“There simply are not enough beds to admit people to, often because the people in those beds are medically well enough to go home but can’t because of inadequate or delayed social care support.
“It is not just a matter of inconvenience or lack of dignity – which is bad enough. The longer people’s in-patient admission is delayed, the greater the risk to their life.
“There is no one quick fix, but the problems are fixable. RCEM is ready to work with whoever forms the next Government to begin the process of resuscitating our health system and ending these unacceptable and dangerous long waits.”