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A recent analysis conducted by the BBC reveals that one in every ten patients visiting major Accident & Emergency (A&E) departments in England during the past year experienced waits exceeding 12 hours. In total, approximately 1.75 million individuals faced delays this lengthy in 2025, marking only a slight improvement compared to 2024. This troubling situation has drawn concern from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which highlighted the detrimental effects of prolonged waits and the practice of corridor care—where patients endure hours in improvised spaces such as hallways.
The RCN shared numerous accounts from nursing staff across the UK, portraying a grim picture of unsafe and undignified conditions. One striking testimony compared patient treatment unfavorably to that of animals, stating they would not be treated so poorly in a veterinary clinic. The union’s reports describe patients being accommodated in corridors, kitchens, dining rooms, and side rooms, leading to distressing situations. For example, one nurse recounted a patient dying from choking unnoticed in a corridor, while others shared stories of having to use sheets to provide privacy during intimate procedures. Descriptions from healthcare workers included heartbreaking images of elderly patients remaining on corridors for days and references to the system as “broken” and akin to “a type of torture.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting acknowledged the ongoing problem of corridor care, describing it as unacceptable and emphasizing that it must not become normalized. He committed to ending this practice before the end of the current parliamentary session and promised that forthcoming data on corridor care would be published to increase transparency. Despite these challenges, he pointed out some areas of progress, including improved ambulance response times and positive changes related to hospital waiting lists. He noted that patients were beginning to notice differences in care, signifying gradual improvements.
The pressure on hospitals remains relentless, as reported through firsthand BBC footage from Leicester Royal Infirmary. Medical staff there describe daily struggles to maintain patient dignity while managing overcrowded corridors. Vulnerable patients, particularly older adults, have been observed waiting for hours on plastic chairs. Two patients, Patricia and Ann, highlight these hardships; Patricia waited nine hours on a chair in severe discomfort after a fall, while Ann endured a 48-hour wait for a ward bed despite receiving praised care. Consultant Scott Knapp expressed frustration, stating, “This is not the level of care we want to give.” NHS England’s monthly data reveals that in 2024, 10.5% of patients waited 12 hours or more in major A&E units, with a slight decline to 10.1% in 2025. Other parts of the UK have reported similar issues, although waiting times are measured differently.
In addition to emergency care, difficulties persist in planned hospital treatments. By the end of November, the waiting list for procedures such as knee and hip operations stood at 7.31 million, a slight decrease from the previous month and the lowest since February 2023. NHS England has also reported on efforts to address waiting list reductions in areas with high levels of economic inactivity. Specialist teams comprising doctors and managers have been deployed to the 20 regions most affected by joblessness, contributing to a 4.2% decline in waiting lists over the past year—three times faster than in other areas
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