Overcrowded hospitals 'killed 500' last year, claims top A&E doctor

Ministers warned that the NHS is facing 'a disaster' of ever-busier accident and emergency departments and bed-blocking Up to 500 patients died last year as a direct result of harm they suffered when hospitals became dangerously overcrowded, Britain's A&E doctors have warned. About 350 of the deaths were among patients who had not been diagnosed or given medical treatment quickly enough. Another 150 were not admitted because of bed shortages, even though their condition meant they would usually ...