Hungry patients are overwhelming NHS emergency departments at unprecedented levels, researchers claim.
Admissions to hospital Accident and Emergency (A&E) units because of hunger have more than tripled, rising by nearly 219 per cent in five years, figures suggest.
Analysis of NHS data shows a lack of food was the fastest growing cause of A&E admissions in England between 2018-19 and 2023-24, as food prices and poverty spiralled.
As the cost-of-living crisis gripped the UK, experts repeatedly warned that households were being plunged into poverty, with food bank use soaring and charities finding parents going hungry so their children could eat.
Health experts warned in 2022 that millions of people were facing a “significant humanitarian crisis”, exacerbated by rocketing fuel bills.
In 2018-19, 70 patients needed emergency care for hunger, the statistics show, but the figure shot up to 230 after five years – a 218.5 per cent increase.
Paula Lingard, of the ID Band Company, which analysed the NHS data, said: “The significant rise in admissions related to lack of food is particularly concerning and may reflect growing food insecurity in England, highlighting the importance of addressing basic needs as part of our approach to public health.”
Recently, the Resolution Foundation think tank said the outlook for living standards for UK households remains bleak for the rest of the 2020s, which it said could become “the first decade of the modern era to witness no improvement in disposable incomes across Britain”.
Household debts have continued to rise since last year.
The biggest actual increase in A&E admission numbers over the five years was down to adverse reactions to standard medical procedures. Cases rose from 40,881 to 103,295 over the five years – a 144.9 per cent increase.
Environmental pollution-related illnesses caused the second-biggest proportionate rise in admissions, increasing by 191 per cent in five years. Patient numbers tripled from 16 to 48.
Surgical errors drove the third-highest percentage jump, with emergency figures rising 179.9 per cent. NHS records show 4,094 patients needed urgent treatment after medical mishaps in 2023-24, against 1,418 in 2018-19.
Cardiovascular equipment problems more than doubled, from 325 to 775.
But cases of self-harm fell, with deliberate drug overdoses dropping by nearly half between 2018 and 2024, from 12,298 to 6,499.
Gun and rifle injuries dropped from 56 in 2018-19 to just 17.
A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “It is utterly unacceptable for anyone to walk into hospital due to hunger in the 21st century. These figures demonstrate the rising levels of poverty this government inherited, and which we are determined to tackle.
“Through our Plan for Change, we are introducing free breakfast clubs at every primary school and extending free school meals to half a million extra children, so they are provided with the nutrition they need.
“We are also making changes to Universal Credit to give a £420 boost to over a million of the poorest households, to turn the tide on poverty.”
