{"id":8657,"date":"2026-04-29T15:33:56","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T15:33:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=8657"},"modified":"2026-04-29T15:33:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T15:33:56","slug":"ae-admissions-are-quicker-during-nhs-doctors-strikes-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=8657","title":{"rendered":"A&E admissions are QUICKER during NHS doctors’ strikes, study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By MARTI STELLING, HEALTH REPORTER<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published:<\/span>

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Accident and Emergency admissions were faster during NHS<\/a> strike days, a major study has revealed, with some patients getting beds up to five hours sooner than normal.<\/p>\n

Researchers from Lancaster University analysed more than 44,000 hospital admissions across two emergency departments in Lancashire between January 2022 and April 2024.<\/p>\n

The time period included 61 separate strike days involving junior doctors, consultants, nurses and ambulance staff.<\/p>\n

Despite fears that walkouts would cripple frontline services, the study found no difference in the number of patients attending A&E, the proportion admitted, or how quickly they were first seen by a clinician.<\/p>\n

However, once the decision to admit had been made, patients were transferred to wards significantly faster during certain strike periods \u2013 particularly when junior doctors and consultants were on strike.<\/p>\n

The biggest improvements were seen at a full\u2013service 24\u2013hour emergency department with a major trauma unit, while a smaller minor injuries unit also recorded quicker admissions when consultants walked out.<\/p>\n

Experts believe the surprising trend is likely due to increased bed availability, as hospitals cancelled large numbers of routine operations and appointments during strike action.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Around one million elective procedures were postponed across the NHS between 2022 and 2024, freeing up space for emergency patients.<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"A&E <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

A&E admissions were faster during NHS strike days, a major study has revealed<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Lead researcher Professor Jo Knight said the findings suggest that delays in A&E are often driven less by staffing shortages and more by a lack of available hospital beds.<\/p>\n

But the researchers cautioned that the results do not mean strikes improve care overall.<\/p>\n

The study was limited to just two hospitals and cannot prove that industrial action directly caused the faster admissions.<\/p>\n

They also warned that any short-term gains in emergency departments must be weighed against the wider impact of cancelled routine care, which may leave thousands of patients waiting longer for planned treatment.<\/p>\n

The findings add to growing evidence that pressure on hospital capacity\u00a0\u2013 including delays in discharging medically fit patients\u00a0\u2013 plays a major role in A&E backlogs, raising questions about how the NHS could improve patient flow outside of strike periods<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Professor Knight added: ‘This study found improved flow through the emergency department during certain strike days, which we infer is largely due to improved inpatient capacity.<\/p>\n

‘This suggests that during non-strike periods, patient flow through NHS emergency departments can be improved by expanding capacity and efficiently discharging medically fit patients<\/a>.’<\/p>\n

The report comes amid wider concerns about NHS emergency care capacity.<\/a><\/p>\n

A freedom of information investigation has revealed that four in ten NHS organisations are using nurses or other non-medical staff to cover doctors’ rotas because of workforce shortages.<\/p>\n

The British Medical Association warned that the ‘haphazard’ use of non-medical staff risks patient safety and could be ‘a potential disaster for everyone involved’.<\/p>\n

The concerns come amid growing debate over ‘doctor substitution’ in the NHS, including the expanding role of advanced practitioners\u00a0\u2013 clinicians from nursing, paramedic and pharmacy backgrounds\u00a0\u2013 in hospital settings.<\/p>\n

A recent survey by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine found A&E departments are operating at more than double their intended capacity, with thousands of patients forced into corridors, waiting areas and other unsuitable spaces.<\/p>\n

On one snapshot day, more than 7,000 patients were being treated in departments designed for fewer than 3,000, while some individuals waited days\u00a0\u2013 or even weeks\u00a0\u2013 for a hospital bed.<\/p>\n

Doctors warned that delays are now so severe that some mental health patients have waited more than two weeks for admission.<\/p>\n

Experts say that without urgent expansion of specialist children’s services and improvements in hospital discharge capacity, the situation is likely to deteriorate further.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n A&E admissions are QUICKER during NHS doctors’ strikes, study finds<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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By MARTI STELLING, HEALTH REPORTER Published: 11:07 EDT, 29 April 2026 | Updated: 11:09 EDT, 29 April 2026 Accident and Emergency admissions were faster during NHS strike days, a major study has revealed, with some patients getting beds up to five hours sooner than normal. Researchers from Lancaster University analysed more than 44,000 hospital admissions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[520],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8657","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hot"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}