Record 350,000 casualty patients waited 12 hours or more for NHS beds last year

A RECORD 350,000 accident patients waited 12 hours or more for a hospital bed last year – seven times more than in 2021.

NHS figures show that of 5.9million patients hospitalized by A&E, 347,707 – one in 20 – waited half a day for a bed.

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According to a Liberal Democrat analysis, that was an increase from 48,626 in the previous year.

Ambulance workers in England and Wales are on strike again tomorrow over pay and working conditions.

Lib Dem chairman Ed Davey said: “The appalling delays at A&E are costing lives unnecessarily as patients wait hours for the treatment they need.

“We need a plan now to bring the NHS back from the brink.”

Delays in admitting patients to the hospital result in ambulances waiting at the door.

This adds 999 to wait times and means Brits will have to wait longer for help during the crisis.

dr Adrian Boyle, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, added: “The A&E statistics for 2022 are shocking.

“Twelve hour waits used to never be an occurrence, now they are a daily occurrence.

“We know that extremely long wait times are associated with patient harm and death, and the more patients that experience long wait times, the more harm there will be.”