Senior doctor warns of ‘unsafe and undignified’ care due to A&E delays

In November, 37,837 patients waited more than 12 hours in A&E to be admitted to hospital, according to figures from NHS England. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

The deaths of an estimated 300 to 500 people each week caused by delays in emergency care is “not a short-term thing”, a senior doctor has said.

Ian Higginson, a vice-president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, warned about attempts to “discredit” figures estimating that as many as 500 people are dying each week because of the delays.