In England, more than 1,300 people may be dying each month because of long waits in hospital emergency departments, according to new figures from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. The analysis found that 15,860 deaths in 2025 were linked to patients waiting many hours for a hospital bed after arriving at an emergency department, a nearly tenfold increase from 2015. Medical experts say overcrowded hospitals, a shortage of beds, and delays in moving patients through the healthcare system are forcing seriously ill people to wait too long for treatment.
