OVER-80S FACE 12-HOUR A&E WAITS AT DOUBLE RATE OF YOUNGER PATIENTS

Analysis by the Nuffield Trust think tank found that 43% of patients aged over 80 waited more than 12 hours between arrival in A&E and admission to a hospital ward in 2025, compared with 19% of those aged 21 to 30. The data shows elderly and frail patients are more likely to face extended waits in A&E corridors, often in conditions described as unsafe. Health officials had previously assumed longer A&E stays among older patients were primarily due to higher admission rates, but the analysis indicates they wait longest even when accounting for admission likelihood.

The elderly are more likely to have multiple complex conditions, which makes diagnosis more time-consuming. Many face delays waiting in trolleys in corridors and makeshift spaces, where access to food and sleep is limited. Sarah Scobie, research director at the Nuffield Trust, stated: "It's absolutely shocking that two fifths of the most elderly patients going into A&E are stuck waiting for over 12 hours, often in unsafe conditions, when they are already extremely unwell and vulnerable." Dr Ian Higginson, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said that long stays result in the loss of thousands of lives in England annually.

The government has begun publishing figures on corridor care waits. Dr Higginson stated that approaches taken by consecutive governments to tackle the crisis have fallen short. The Nuffield Trust characterised the findings as indicating a systemic problem in emergency care provision for vulnerable older patients.