UK MPS have been warned over emergency departments overcrowding.
A British medical expert has expressed concerns over overcrowding in accident and emergency (A&E) departments at hospitals in England, saying it could lead to more deaths.
Speaking at the Parliamentâ„¢s Health Select Committee on Tuesday, President of the College of Emergency Medicine Mike Clancy said the number of patients attending major A&E units had been increased by 17 percent in the last decade.
He warned that the overcrowding was Å“dangerous” and associated Å“mortality and morbidity”.
Clancy also said that many hospital emergency departments have dropped the British government’s four-hour waiting target.
It was revealed that in the last year the number of A&E patients who waited between four and 12 hours soared by 34,000.
“What is happening in emergency departments reflects the performance and difficulties of the whole National Health System [NHS] as well as within the emergency department,” Clancy said.
Meanwhile, in a leaked letter seen by the Independent, some 20 Accident and Emergency doctors warned that a combination of “toxic overcrowding” and Å“institutional exhaustion” is threatening patientsâ„¢ lives.
Earlier in February, the think tank The Kingâ„¢s Fund found that emergency queues at hospitals in England is at its highest in a decade.
According to the organizationâ„¢s report, from October to December 2012, over 232,000 patients waited more than four hours in A&E wards, showing a rise of 21 percent when compared with the same period in 2011 and the highest figure for those months since 2003.
SSM/MOS/HE
This article originally appeared on : Press TV