About 23,000 people died in accident and emergency departments last year, according to an estimate by Labour based on Freedom of Information requests to every NHS trust in England.
Half of the trusts responded to the party’s requests and, based on that information, it calculated that just over 23,000 people had died – an increase of more than 20% on 2021, and nearly 40% on 2020.
The increase in deaths corresponds with a sharp rise in NHS waiting times, as hospitals struggle with high demand and a lack of resources after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said: “People turning to the NHS in an emergency should know they will be seen and treated before it’s too late. The Conservatives’ failure over 13 years to properly staff or reform the NHS has a cost in lives.”
Maria Caulfield, the health minister, defended the government’s record, however, saying: “We are delivering a record number of tests, speeding up discharge from hospitals, and cutting waiting lists as we also work to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, and stop the boats.”
Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, will promise on Monday that, if elected next year, Labour will drastically reduce waiting times in A&E, which hit record levels last year.
In 2022, more than 1.5 million people were left waiting in A&E for over four hours, NHS figures show, while nearly 350,000 had to wait longer than 12 hours. Since 2004, the health service has had a target of seeing 95% of patients within four hours, but the target has not been met since 2015.
Researchers have proved the link between longer waiting times and worse outcomes for patients. A study published last year in the Emergency Medicine Journal found that for every 82 patients who had to wait six to eight hours, there was one additional death within the following 30 days.
Labour is promising to increase funding to the NHS if it is elected, using money raised by abolishing non-dom tax status to fund training for 7,500 more doctors and 10,000 more nurses a year. Starmer will also lay out on Monday how the party plans to change healthcare to have more patients seen in their local communities rather than having to attend A&E.
Streeting said: “It took 13 years for the Conservatives to break the NHS. It won’t be fixed overnight, but it will be the mission of the next Labour government to build an NHS that is there for you when you need it once again.”
