The statistics show a sharp rise in the the number of patients deciding to walk out of A&E without seeing a doctor.
On the rise: People waiting more than four hours in A&E has almost doubled in five years
Nearly 50,000 sick people walked out of
A&E departments without receiving treatment in a single month.
New figures obtained by
Labour show that the number of patients deciding to walk out of A&E without seeing a doctor has risen by 49% in the past two years.
Record numbers of patients are also being made to wait longer than hours before being treated.
The latest Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) data shows that in November 2015 46,945 patients decided they could wait no longer for treatment and walked out of their A&Es.
In November 2013 this figure stood at 31,447 - a rise of 49%.
In a further sign of the growing crisis across Britain’s A&E units data from December 2015 showed a huge rise in patients having to wait over four hours to be treated compared to five years ago.
People waiting over four hours to be treated
In December 2015 165,740 sick people waited over four hours to be treated. Five years earlier the figure was 88,475.
Labour’s shadow Health Secretary Heidi Alexander MP said: “This is yet another sign of the worsening crisis in our A&E departments.
“Cuts to social care and difficulties in getting a GP appointment have left hospitals overwhelmed.
“Too many patients are now faced with the prospect of having to wait hours on end in busy A&E departments, so it is little wonder some are giving up hope and returning home without receiving.
“Ministers might be in denial but the reality is we have seen longer and longer delays in accessing emergency care since the Tories came to power.
Passing the buck: Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt blames the NHS crisis on an ageing population
“We need urgent action to tackle the crisis in A&E and ensure patients are able to get the care they need, when they need it.”
In January a new report by think-tank The Kings Fund warned the crisis gripping A&Es has spread to other areas of the
NHS as staff struggle to cope with the deluge of patients, a report has warned.
Routine operations are being cancelled and bosses are clearing beds on wards to admit the rising number of emergencies from casualty departments.
Waiting times in A&E are the worst since 2008, with most missing the target of treating 95% of arrivals within four hours.
The number of cancelled operations between November and January shot up by a third on the same period in 2013.
Health Secretary
Jeremy Hunt has blamed the A&E crisis on an ageing population.
- 23:50, 3 MAR 2016
- UPDATED 23:50, 3 MAR 2016
- BY LEE HARPIN
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