Overview
- The Nuffield Trust's analysis, published in late July, found that in 2025 forty‑three percent of patients aged 81 and over waited more than 12 hours from A&E arrival to ward admission.
- In May 2026 nearly 3,000 patients a day in England were recorded as receiving 'corridor care', meaning treatment in spaces that lack privacy, rest facilities or basic amenities.
- The report shows people with airway or breathing problems, neurological issues and some gastrointestinal conditions faced especially high rates of 12‑hour waits.
- Researchers and emergency doctors say the core drivers are too few ward beds and insufficient social care that delay discharges and block patient flow through hospitals.
- The Department of Health and Social Care points to improving four‑hour figures for June and a £450 million urgent care package, but analysts warn a narrow corridor‑care target will not fix upstream capacity or discharge problems.