Long delays to admission in emergency departments cause higher mortality: implications for the 4-hour target

Abstract

NHS England is planning to abolish the long-standing 4-hour target for waits in emergency departments. The target has been criticised as an arbitrary management target that is unrelated to clinical outcomes, but waits much longer than 4 hours in the emergency department cause a notable increase in mortality for admitted patients, suggesting that the 4-hour target is clinically important and should not be abolished.