50,000 excess deaths in 2022: Lib Dems demand CQC inquiry

The Liberal Democrats for an inquiry by the Care Quality Commission, after analysis by The Times, found there were 50,000 excess deaths in 2022 driven partly by NHS delays.

ONS figures show there were an extra 1,000 deaths a week recorded last year, with evidence that the government’s handling of the NHS including ambulance delays and long waits in A&E delays is partly to blame.

It comes after the Royal College of Emergency Medicine estimated that between 300 and 500 people are dying a week due to long waits at A&E.

Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said:

“We’re in the grips of a national scandal, repeated week after week after week.  Any one-off event involving this many deaths would immediately attract an inquiry but once again, Conservative ministers continue to blame everyone but themselves for this tragic state of affairs.

“The government needs to establish a Care Quality Commission inquiry into what is driving these excess deaths and what can be done to prevent them. The public deserves answers, not yet more buck passing by a Conservative government that has driven our health service into the ground.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors: 

Times story on excess deaths here.