New research is yet more evidence that A&E overcrowding kills, but governments remain too slow to act, says the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM).

A new study published today (25 September 2026), presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress by members of the Trainee Emergency Research Network (TERN), found that Emergency Department (ED) patients were more likely to die the more overcrowded the ED was.

For every 10% increase in ED occupancy, the risk of a patient dying within 28 days rose by 1%, according to the study.

The research, which is part of the UNCORKED study series, concluded that overcrowding was estimated to have contributed towards 554 excess – otherwise avoidable – deaths each week in the UK last year.

Dr Ian Higginson, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “People are dying in association with overcrowding in Emergency Departments. This should be cause for alarm among policymakers, and yet we are not seeing any urgency.

“The findings of this crucial study from the Trainee Emergency Research Network (TERN) add yet more evidence about this utterly normalised and unacceptable state of affairs.

“RCEM continues to call for the governments of the four UK nations to act to address the catastrophic effect overcrowding and long waits in our EDs on our patients – who are suffering harm and will continue to do so because of a failure to act.

“They must also recognise the impact that working in such conditions have on staff, who we risk losing in droves should the problem persist. Politicians need to focus efforts on the main causes of the problem rather than on apparent quick fixes which patently aren’t working.

“Governments must make tackling overcrowding, long ED waits and the associated risk to patients an urgent priority. RCEM has made detailed recommendations on how this can be done, and is open to working with any policymaker to make them a reality.

“Thank you to the excellent researchers behind this work, the second in the UNCORKED series from RCEM’s Trainee Emergency Research Network, for continuing to highlight this crucial issue.”

The new study backs findings from RCEM, published earlier this year, which suggested that long waiting times and overcrowding in Emergency Departments contribute towards thousands of deaths each year.