How drug deaths could soon be surpassed by number of patients dying because of long A&E waits in Scotland
The SNP government must act quickly after sharp rise in estimated excess deaths because of long waiting times in A&E
It is a fate truly horrifying to contemplate, and yet everyone in Scotland should do so. Imagine lying on a hospital trolley for hours on end with a life-threatening medical emergency, desperately hoping that someone will save you before your body finally gives up the fight for life – but hoping in vain.
According to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), there were an estimated 818 excess deaths because of long delays in accident and emergency departments last year when a staggering 76,510 people waited longer than 12 hours. The figure was 202 higher than in 2023.
For context, the number of people who lost their lives to drugs last year was 1,017, a situation rightly regarded as a national scandal and an indictment of Scottish society. The fact that this grim toll could soon be surpassed by rising number of deaths attributed to unacceptably long A&E waits should be just as shameful for those in charge – the Scottish Government.
A fixable problem
Dr Fiona Hunter, the vice president of RCEM Scotland, said: “Behind this statistic are stories of heartbreak... because these are people, mums, dads, brothers, sisters, grandparents – their deaths shattering the lives of families and friends.”
She said that the crisis was fixable if the ‘flow’ of patients from A&E to hospital wards and then home when they are well enough was improved, underlining the importance of social care workers to the functioning of the NHS. However she added that “without government action, the cost will continue to be measured in lives”.
The SNP have had years to address the serious problems caused by ‘delayed discharge’ or ‘bed blocking’ but, judging by these figures, appears to have taken its “eye off the ball” just as much as it did over drug deaths.
So the next time you hear an SNP politician talking up their plans to improve the NHS or claiming they are making progress, remember these figures because, while we hope it never happens, one day you may find yourself ending your days in distress made all the worse by potentially life-saving treatment being so tantalisingly close.
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