India, Sept. 25 -- A new study looking into overcrowding in emergency departments has discovered an association between packed A&E units and an increased risk of death for patients admitted to hospital, with researchers estimating that overcrowding may be linked to hundreds of excess deaths every week throughout the UK. The review was recently presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress.

What the Study Says

Dr Ryan McHenry, an emergency medicine doctor in western Scotland, presented the study on behalf of the University of Glasgow.

The researchers looked at 19,034 patients and compared their results with the level of crowding in the emergency department at the time they were treated. The departments involved in the study were...