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The number of people dying needlessly in A&E soars on a Monday as hospitals are stretched to the limit and failing to discharge patients at the weekend, new data shows.
Figures uncovered by The Independent show an average of 126 patients died every Monday between 2020-2023 – 25 per cent higher than any other day. On a Saturday, the average number of deaths drops as low as 90.
Waiting times are also shown to spike massively at the start of the week, with an average of 9,300 patients spending more than 12 hours waiting on a Monday – up to 2,000 more than any other day.
Medical experts said the rise in A&E waits can be attributed to people staying away from hospitals during weekends and patients not being discharged from medical care, causing a bottleneck in an already buckling system.
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