100,000 OAPs face 24-hour A&E waits

Medics warn long delays in admissions are costing lives

- MARTIN BAGOT

MORE than 100,000 over-65s had to wait more than 24 hours in A&E to be admitted to hospital last year, shocking figures show.

Data from 73 hospital trusts, about half the total, shows that in all 153,000 patients endured 24-hour waits, up from 15,000 in 2019.

Medics warn people will have died due to the delays and estimate the NHS is short of 10,000 hospital beds.

Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: "These patients are always people who are sick who need to be admitted to hospital.

"The majority are those who have general medical problems and are elderly with multiple conditions.

"Quite a lot also have mental health problems. We know that staying 12 hours is harmful for people, so staying longer certainly won't be good for people."