‘Our failing care system means public are too scared to call 999’

THE public are too afraid of long waits in hospital to call 999 when they need it, Dr Adrian Boyle claims.

The new president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said the urgent and emergency care system was failing in its core function of treating patients quickly, leading some patients to die.

Fear over calling ambulances and delays in hospital were leading to more than 500 avoidable deaths every week, according to an analysis of statistics from earlier this year. Dr Boyle said the ‘absolutely catastrophic’ situation within the NHS also meant people were putting off seeking treatment, leading to further harm.

He believes this is in part why excess deaths remain stubbornly above the five-year average, with research finding one in 67 who spend 1 hours or more in A&E will come to additional harm. ‘I think delays in ambulance response times is one reason (for excess deaths) and public fear,’ he said.

‘There’s fear to call an ambulance, there’s fear to access healthcare, there are long waits and long stays in emergency care and the care that they’re getting is delayed and diluted.

‘What people are seeing in the media is making them rightly feel anxious.

This is why I struggle with catastrophising and telling people how bad it really is as I know it will generate a lot of concern and anxiety for people.’

Data from the Office for National Statistics shows there were more than 6,500 additional deaths this October, about 14 per cent higher than it should be. While there is much scientific debate over the cause, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries have also noted higher levels of mortality throughout the year.

Dr Boyle is certain the troubled state of emergency medicine is a factor, alongside diagnosis and treatment delays in the fallout of Covid. Long waits are known to increase deaths up to 30 days later, research has found.

Dr Boyle believes the way 1 -hour waits are currently presented by the NHS is ‘fundamentally dishonest’ and misleading the public.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has long campaigned for NHS England to publish monthly data on 1 -hour waits from time of arrival at hospital, rather than from the decision to admit.