Long A&E waits causing heartbreaking suffering, Age UK says

The Government has been urged to rein in long A&E waits, with campaigners saying it is the rot eating away at the heart of the NHS.

Age UK’s plea comes as it releases a report detailing “heartbreaking” stories of how older people suffer, spending hours in corridors and side rooms.

It highlights cases of people being abandoned in their own excrement, receiving blood transfusions and even dying in these makeshift treatment areas.

And it says older people are much more likely to experience long waits, with data showing one in three people over 90 attending emergency departments in England last year faced a wait of 12 hours or more.

The government said the situation was unacceptable, but added it was taking action.

The Age UK report said that while 12-hour waits were once virtually unheard of, they had now become the norm in too many places.

It highlights the case of an 86-year-old man who stayed 36 hours in an abandoned corridor.

Another man, who had soiled himself, was left in his own excrement for 20 hours, while others suffered the indignity of having to use bedpans in the corridors.

Susan, 79, from south London, is among those who have experienced a long wait, according to the Age UK report.

She said it took her 22 hours to find a bed after arriving at hospital after having a heart attack.

She spent much of her wait on a sofa in a curtained off area near A&E where there was no privacy. She thinks she heard two people dying on couches nearby.

Regarding one of the deaths, she said: “I was next to a man who was clearly not well. He was left alone for a while, then his wife was brought in. They whispered because they had little privacy. Then, after a long silence, she was taken away crying. I’m sure he died. And he died right next to me.”

The report highlights data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act from NHS England, which shows there were more than 1.7 million 12-hour waits in 2024-25 in major hospitals, or around one in ten people who attended emergency departments.

Two thirds of them were experienced by people over 60 years old.

The report says that in addition to being horrible, long waits are risky.

Age UK director Caroline Abrahams said it was a “crisis hiding in plain sight” and the government should take immediate action.

“No one should have to spend their final days in a hospital hallway where it is impossible for staff to provide quality, compassionate care.

“As winter approaches, we fear that an already difficult situation will get worse.

“Long waits are like rot eating away at the heart of the NHS, undermining public trust.”

Age UK said one of the main causes of the problem was the lack of support available in the community, which meant hospitals could not discharge medically fit patients from services. This results in a shortage of beds available for new patients.

He called for renewed effort and determination to resolve this problem.

RCN general secretary Professor Nicola Ranger said the issues were a “moral stain” on the health service.

“No elderly or vulnerable person should be forced to endure these conditions.

“Overworked and understaffed nursing teams work hard every day to provide the best care, but they face an impossible task.”

Health Minister Karin Smyth said: “No one should receive care in a corridor. It is unacceptable, undignified and we are determined to put an end to it.”

She said the Government was investing more money in the NHS and detailed data on corridor care would soon be published to hold the system to account.

“To solve a problem, you have to be honest,” she added.