Hospitals: Mortality Rates

Long waits in accident and emergency (A&E) have been proven to be associated with worse patient outcomes and increased patient mortality, and the Government is committed to restoring urgent and emergency care waiting times to the standards set out in the NHS Constitution as laid out in our 10‑Year Health Plan. The medium-term planning framework for the National Health Service, published in October 2025, includes a commitment that 85% of patients wait no more than four hours in A&E by 2028/29, as well as committing to reduce year on year between 2026/7 and 2028/9 the proportion of patients who wait over 12 hours in A&E.

Improving flow through emergency departments is critical to delivering the four- and 12- hour A&E standards. To support this, the Government has provided £450 million of capital investment including in new and expanded Same Day Emergency Care and Urgent Treatment Centres; additional mental health crisis capacity; and connected care records for ambulance services.  In February 2026, the NHS published new national clinical standards, including The Model Emergency Department and The Model Acute Pathway, to support more consistent, high-quality care and improve flow through hospitals.

In June 2026, for the first time, NHS England published data on instances of corridor care, to support trusts to identify and target action to reduce it.