Long A&E waits for hip fractures can increase fatality risk – study

Chris Radburn/PA Wire

By Ella Pickover, PA Media

Patients who face long waits in A&E after fracturing a hip are at higher risk of death, a study suggests.

Those who wait more than 4 hours are also more likely to have a longer stay in hospital, experts found.

Researchers examined data on hip fracture patients aged 50 and over at a trauma centre in Lothian, Scotland, between January 2019 to the end of June 2022.

They looked at the cases of 3,266 hip fracture patients with an average age of 81 years, of whom 72% were female.

Some 38.6% of these patients were in A&E for more than 4 hours.

Patients were followed up for more than 500 days and, during this time, 1,314 patients died.

Academics found that the odds of still being alive 3 months after hospital admission were “significantly lower” for patients who were in A&E for more than 4 hours compared to those who spent less time in the emergency room.