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Long waits, overcrowding, and corridor care in emergency departments where staff are spread too thinly pose major risks to patients, especially older people with underlying frailty and cognitive impairment. The headline risk is often excess mortality. A 2025 analysis from the Office for National Statistics estimated that patients who spent 12 hours or more in emergency departments for non-immediate care had twice the 30 day mortality of those waiting two hours or less.1