Older patients are suffering most of all from overcrowded hospitals, according to new research undertaken at the Canberra Hospital, ACT.
The three-year study looked at the experiences of over 13,000 patients aged over 50.
It found that patients who waited more than four hours to be transferred to a bed in the main body of the hospital after receiving their emergency care were 51% more likely to die than people who waited less than four hours.
The finding calls into question the rationale used by hospitals to decide which patients are moved into a bed first.
"In emergency departments (EDs), we take in the most vulnerable patients first," said Associate Professor Drew Richardson, who conducted the study, "But this hospital is using different criteria to decide who should be moved from the ED to the main body of the hospital."
"The sicker patients with the more complex problems - who are almost always over 50 - are not being admitted into the hospital as soon as they should be to receive the care they need."
Ideally, a person admitted to an ED is given the acute care they need and then either sent home or moved into the main body of the hospital to receive further care. But with Australia's growing, ageing population there are fewer hospital beds available, leading to overcrowded EDs and ambulance ramping.
"This important research adds to the already significant body of evidence demonstrating the very real negative health impacts caused by access block," said Dr Anthony Cross, ACEM President.
"The likelihood of these findings being replicated in hospitals across Australia is high, which paints a concerning picture about the level of care over-50s can expect from our health system."
"Older patients shouldn't be put at risk simply because their more complex conditions require more resources."
Associate Professor Richardson is Chair of Road Trauma and Emergency Medicine at the Australian National University Medical School. He presented his findings at the ACEM Winter Symposium in Alice Springs on 27 July 2015.