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PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(5 June 2026)

Question Asked

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of long waiting times in A&E departments on excess deaths.

Asked by:
Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat)

Answer

The Department is aware of a range of evidence suggesting an association between longer waits in emergency care and poorer patient outcomes, including mortality. However, the Department has not undertaken its own assessment of the impact of long waiting times in accident and emergency departments on excess deaths.

The Government is taking action to improve urgent and emergency care performance and reduce long waits for patients. Through the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan 2025/26, the Government and NHS England have provided over £450 million to expand urgent and emergency care capacity, including:

  • new and expanded Same Day Emergency Care and Urgent Treatment Centres;

  • additional mental health crisis capacity;

  • connected care records for ambulance services; and

  • nearly 1,000 replacement ambulances. 

These capacity and flow improvements are being supported by new national clinical standards, including the Model Emergency Department and the Model Acute Pathway.


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