Waiting, and dying, for a hospital bed.

Over 2059 patients in Derby & Burton Trust waited over 24 hours to be admitted to hospital at A&E last year. Of these the vast majority, 1433, were over 65

- Liberal Democrats warn the government’s failure to tackle the social care crisis is behind devastating delays facing elderly patients at A&E

Nationally, 153,000 people waited over 24 hours to be admitted to hospital following their arrival in A&E in 2023. This is a shocking ten-fold increase on the just over 15,000 people who waited over 24 hours in 2019. Of those waiting 24 hours to be admitted to hospital in A&E last year, more than two-thirds were over 65.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine recently produced an analysis which showed that there were almost 300 excess deaths a week from A&E associated long delays. rcem.ac.uk/almost-300-deaths-a-week-in-2023-associated-with-long-ae-waits-despite-uec-recovery-plan

The Liberal Democrats are calling for an end to excessive A&E waits by increasing the number of fully staffed hospital beds, along with a long-term solution to the social care crisis so people aren’t left stuck in hospital waiting for care.