Tens of thousands of patients across England were left waiting more than 24 hours for a hospital bed in A&E last year, with people aged 65 or over accounting for nearly 70% of the delays, new data reveals.
A total of 49,000 visits to Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments in 2024 resulted in patients waiting for 24 hours or more before being admitted to a ward. Of those, nearly 70% were aged 65 or older, with some patients waiting as long as 10 days for a bed.
The figures, obtained through a Freedom of Information request by the Liberal Democrats, highlight the extent of the crisis in England’s hospitals. The data, gathered from 54 NHS trusts, shows that of the 48,830 “trolley waits” lasting 24 hours or longer in 2024, 33,413 occurred among patients aged 65 and older. A “trolley wait” refers to the period between a patient’s transfer to a ward after a decision has been made to admit them.
East Kent NHS Trust had the highest number of long trolley waits last year, recording 8,916 cases—up from just 30 in 2019, before the pandemic. Liverpool University Hospitals Trust followed with 4,315 cases, a huge rise from 10 in 2019. However, the Liberal Democrats warned that the actual number of patients waiting 24 hours or more is likely higher, as only 54 of the 141 NHS trusts provided full data.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) described the figures as just the “tip of the iceberg” in the ongoing “crisis in corridor care.” The RCN pointed to reports of patients being treated in hospital corridors due to a shortage of available beds and cited the ongoing challenge of nursing staff shortages exacerbating the situation.
“The NHS and the UK government must begin to disclose the true scale of the problem if they’re serious about eradicating it,” said Prof Nicola Ranger, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive. “A single patient waiting for more than 24 hours is unacceptable, tens of thousands waiting shows why corridor care must be eradicated. It is undignified and unsafe, and now a year-round crisis.”
The Liberal Democrats are calling for the creation of a new team of experienced NHS leaders, referred to as “super-heads,” who would be tasked with turning around struggling trusts.
“The least patients deserve is the dignity to be treated in an appropriate area,” said Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrat health and social care spokesperson. “Not the ramshackle waiting rooms and corridors that far too many have to suffer through for hours.”
Morgan added that the government must ensure this winter crisis is the last and work to eliminate corridor care by the end of this parliament.
“The Conservatives’ beyond-shameful neglect brought us to this point, but the Labour government’s approach of sitting on its hands and hoping it all gets better has not survived contact with reality.”
The current Labour government has made cutting NHS waiting lists a top priority.
