Emergency departments are ‘not well prepared for winter'

Getty/ OGULCAN AKSOY

By Sarah Lowden

Around 150 of the UK's emergency doctors have said they are very worried about the pressure that emergency departments will face this winter, according to a survey.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), which commissioned the poll, said the results were a “stark reminder” to government that “action is needed right now to avert disaster”.

Overcrowding, corridor care and a looming surge in demand are “creating perfect conditions for a terrible winter”, the college said.

The vast majority of survey respondents (97%) said their ED was not well prepared for winter and they were very or extremely worried about the pressures in the coming months.

More than 9 in 10 described the current pressures they are facing as either ‘high’ or ‘very high’, and 88% said they were under greater strain now than this time last year.

Meanwhile, 60% described their emergency department as actively unsafe.

The RCEM surveyed 163 doctors running EDs across the UK with 119 responses gathered.