'Winter deaths will rise' due to neglecting A&E target

Top emergency doctor criticises Labour's 'plan for change'

- REBECCA THOMAS

Patient deaths will increase this winter, a leading A&E medic has warned, after the government neglected emergency care in its flagship plan.

On Thursday, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer unveiled the government’s “plan for change” outlining six milestones he hopes to achieve. This included a pledge to meet the NHS standard of 92 per cent of patients in England waiting no longer than 18 weeks for elective treatment.

However, the prime minister’s failure to commit to other NHS standards such as having 95 per cent of patients seen within four hours in A&E has drawn criticism from health leaders.

Responding to Sir Keir’s speech, Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said he was worried “we are heading into a winter that may be worse than the last”.

“Last year, there were nearly 14,000 deaths related to long stays in emergency departments and it is concerning that this is not attracting the political attention that our patients need,” he said, adding that while elective care was important, all hospital care was connected.