Published on 21 January 2026 03:46 PM
Shocking new analysis by Age UK in 2024/25 shows there were more than 100,000 instances of over-65s waiting between one day (24hrs) three days (72hrs) in A&E after a decision to admit them had been made
In more than half (54,000) of these cases these older people were aged 80 plus
Data reveals “exponential increase” in the last 6 years - in 2018/19, people aged 65 plus experienced a wait of between one and three days in A&E only 1,346 times.
“Every joint was aching. It was excruciating, and I could barely move. They told me there were no beds, no trolleys, nothing. I was left in the reception area all night with no treatment and no one checking on me. I ended up lying on the floor. Someone gave me a coat to put under my head. I’d been awake for three nights by then. It was horrendous.” - David 77 spent around 30 hours in A&E.
Sadly, Age UK has already established that if you are an older person who comes into A&E today, there is a considerable risk that you may face a wait of 12 hours or longer before a decision to admit you results in you actually moving to a hospital bed on a ward. The data also show that older people are the population group most likely to experience long waits and so-called Corridor Care (‘The Longest Wait - Our A&E Crisis Demands an Emergency Response’)
Now, shockingly, new analysis[i] of NHS England data obtained by Age UK through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request has found that for horrifying numbers of older people the situation is even worse than we thought: in 2024/25, the most recent year for which figures are available, there were 101,972 instances of people aged 65 plus enduring waits of between one and three days in A&E after a decision to admit them had been made.
The Charity is hugely concerned that in more than half of these cases, the older people affected were aged 80 plus (53% or 53,870).
A review of the trends over time demonstrates that this phenomenon of older people having to wait for between one and three days for a hospital bed on a ward has exploded beyond all recognition in the last few years, growing from virtually nothing to a major problem now. We have witnessed an exponential increase over six years that shames our society and the NHS and that in Age UK’s view demands a more urgent Government response than appears currently to be being offered.
Age UK’s FOI request related to attendances at type 1 Emergency Departments in England. The data provided by NHS England grouped all waits between 1 and 3 days into a single category. NHS England has said that any waits recorded above three days are likely to be the result of data quality issues and are only included as part of the number of total attendances. However, Age UK and other organisations working in this policy area have heard accounts of people waiting even longer than three days – in a few cases up to a week.
In considering the disastrous impact on very sick older people of having to endure a lengthy period waiting for a hospital bed, often in discomfort on a corridor or in another inappropriate space, it is also important to recognise that some will also have experienced other delays waiting for an ambulance, and in going through the triage process once they have arrived in A&E.
The impact on older people
Behind these findings there are many deeply distressing experiences which have been shared with Age UK by older people and their families. For example,
Michael, 80, was left on a trolley for 16 hours after suffering a heart attack: “I was freezing cold with no blankets or pillow. I was terrified about my heart and depressed from the cold. I didn’t dare discharge myself, but it was a dreadful experience.”
Jennifer, 76, waited 36 hours: “I had no washing facilities at all. I was told to wash in a toilet sink with no plug. I felt like something that had been left on the streets.”
Others describe being left vomiting while sitting on plastic chairs or lying on the floor, alone, too unwell to even move, some developing pressure sores, or self-discharging against medical advice because they felt safer taking their chances outside hospital than staying. They talk of being exhausted, frightened and distressed, and robbed of their dignity when they were at their most vulnerable, and in some cases not even being offered a glass of water.
We can solve the problem of Corridor Care
We know that in some hospitals, long corridor waits occur far less frequently than in others. It is also clear that the reason that older people are so over-represented among those experiencing long waits and Corridor Care is because they usually present at A&E with multiple, often complex health needs which take longer to assess and determine the right course of treatment for. Compare this, for example, with what needs to happen with an otherwise fit and well 25-year-old who has broken their leg playing football – the treatment they need is simpler.
Therefore, to speed up the process for older people waiting for a hospital bed, at a time when we have a growing older population, the way hospitals work needs to adapt; for example, by ensuring doctors and other professionals who specialise in the health of older people work in or close to A&E and available 24/7, because they are better able to assess older people’s needs accurately and quickly. In fact, the evidence is that these expert clinicians are more likely to decide that an admission to hospital is not the best approach for an unwell older person allowing them to go home.
Speeding up the flow of patients through hospitals also depends on there being effective discharge arrangements, which in turn rely on good joint working between the hospital, community health services and social care – the latter run by local authorities – and on there being enough social care available more generally. And finally, of course, it is really important that the Government’s Neighbourhood Health initiative, set out in its 10 Year Health Plan, is implemented swiftly and well, since one of its key aims is to ensure that older people receive better, earlier, joined up care in their own homes, hopefully resolving emerging health problems before they develop into crises requiring them to come to A&E.
The Charity says that there is therefore much that hospitals can do themselves to address the problem of older people waiting for a whole day or longer for a bed on a ward, but they can’t do it all on their own. That’s why Age UK is calling on the Government to lead a comprehensive, urgent process of change. Ministers have said they wish to see an end to Corridor Care by the end of this Parliament but there’s a pressing need for them to publish a plan setting out how this is to happen, to give hope to hospital staff who are in despair about having to work in these awful conditions, and reassurance to older people, growing numbers of whom are fearful of what a trip to hospital may bring.
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, reacts to shocking new Age UK figures revealing that 100,000 people aged 65+ had a wait of between 1 and 3 days between being told they'd be admitted to hospital and ending up on a ward.
Caroline Abrahams, Age UK Charity Director, said: “It is staggering that more than 100,000 over-65s had to wait between one and three days for a hospital bed over the course of a year, more than half of them aged over 80. Waiting for more than 24 hours, often on a hard chair in a corridor or other overspill area, when you are extremely unwell, in pain, probably alone, maybe fearing for your life, would be horrific at any age, let alone if you are in your eighties or beyond. And yet this is happening day in, day out in the worst affected hospitals, to the extent that it’s become routine.
“We should all be ashamed that this is what we’ve come to in some hospitals, it’s utterly soul destroying for doctors and nurses, and extremely frightening for older people who know they may need to go to A&E one day. Of course, no one is happy with conditions like these, including Ministers, but at Age UK we are yet to be convinced that the Government really appreciates the seriousness of this situation and has the grip to turn it around.
“Because the good news is that it can be turned around, as some hospitals have shown. There is much that they can do themselves to reduce their long waits and Corridor Care, learning from the example of the best, but they can’t do it all on their own and there’s a pressing need for Government to show leadership and publish a comprehensive, costed plan. It certainly isn’t possible to eradicate Corridor Care and long waits with the stroke of a pen, it will take time and commitment, but the sooner the Government makes a start the quicker we’ll restore a sense of decency in and around our A&Es, which is the least that our older population and hard-pressed hospital staff deserve.”
Call for urgent action
Age UK is calling on the Government to:
Older people’s experiences
Mike & Pauline – in their 80s:
Mike was married to his wife, Pauline, for almost 60 years. They lived an active life, raising two children and travelling widely, even after Pauline received a life-saving heart transplant more than 20 years ago. For years, her long-term NHS care had been calm, professional and dignified. That changed in March 2024 when Pauline became acutely unwell and was taken to her local hospital. After arriving at the hospital, Pauline spent around 23 hours in A&E without a bed, sitting in a chair because there was no space. The department was overcrowded; patients were lining the corridors and staff were overwhelmed. Mike says Pauline was exhausted, frightened and distressed, and the lack of beds and corridor care robbed her of dignity at a moment when she was at her most vulnerable.
Pauline was eventually moved to a ward, but her treatment was delayed for nine days, and her condition continued to worsen. Even then, overstretched staff struggled to meet her basic needs. Pauline died a week later. Mike says Pauline’s hospital experience was traumatic and degrading, a stark contrast to the care she had received in the past. He says no one, especially at the end of their life, should be left waiting in corridors or sitting in chairs because there are no beds.
“The hospital was absolutely rammed. Chaos reigned. Staff were rushing about, and there were patients everywhere. It felt like a war zone.”
“She was kept in A&E for 23 hours, sitting in an armchair. There wasn’t a bed for her. She stayed in that chair all that time.”
“She was distressed and worried. Compared to the care we’d had before, this was completely different. It was undignified.”
“After seeing what happened to my wife, I wouldn’t want to go into hospital myself. I would resist it as much as I could.”
Tina aged 86:
Tina was generally fit and independent, taking little medication. After returning from a trip abroad, she became suddenly and seriously unwell, feeling exhausted, nauseous and then violently sick. Unable to reach her GP, her daughter called NHS 111, and a doctor advised immediate hospital care. Tina arrived at hospital at 6pm with a letter stating she needed urgent treatment. Despite this, she was triaged and then left to wait.
Tina spent the next fourteen hours sitting on a hard chair under bright lights, with no bed, no observations taken, no pain relief and no reassurance. Her daughter repeatedly asked for help, and even basic needs like water went unmet. Tina was finally seen the next morning, diagnosed with a life-threatening condition and told she needed emergency surgery. With no ambulance available, her daughter drove her to another hospital, where she was taken swiftly into theatre.
“Nobody came to see if I was all right, whether I needed anything or not.” I was sitting on a hard chair all through the night. It was such a long time that nobody came to check how I was, do tests, or take my blood pressure. You have absolutely no privacy at all when you’re left waiting like that. It’s awful.”
David, 77, lives with his wife Christine and is a retired deputy head teacher who spent his career working in a large special school. He retired early after developing severe chronic fatigue syndrome and has since lived with multiple long-term health conditions, including joint replacements and prostate cancer. Until recently, he remained largely independent.
On Saturday Nov 1st he became suddenly and severely unwell, in excruciating pain with every movement and unable to sleep. This continued until the morning of Nov 3rd when his wife took him to A&E.
After triage David was treated with various drips, blood tests and cardiac checks while seated on chairs in a ward area behind A&E. He was told he was to be kept in and would be told when a bed was available.
As pressure on the hospital intensified, David was moved from the ward area back into the main A&E reception. Just before midnight he was told there were no beds or trolleys, so he spent the night sitting on chairs with no food, no rest and no monitoring. David was later told that a virus had attacked his kidneys severely reducing their function causing the extreme pain and disorientation. Despite needing urgent care, David spent around 30 hours in A&E without ever being given a bed, receiving treatment while seated on chairs.
Exhausted and in pain, he went three nights without sleep, one being in A&E. At one point lying on the floor for brief relief. Although his condition eventually stabilised and he was discharged, the experience triggered a serious relapse of his chronic fatigue syndrome, with long-lasting effects on his health and confidence. David is clear that staff were kind and professional, but says the situation left him deeply worried about future hospital care and highlights the human cost of corridor care for older people.
"Every joint was aching. It was excruciating, and I could barely move. They told me there were no beds, no trolleys, nothing. I was left in the reception area all night with no treatment and no one checking on me. I ended up lying on the floor. Someone gave me a coat to put under my head. I’d been awake for three nights by then. It was horrendous.
“I’m still dealing with the aftermath. If I do anything at all now, I’m shattered. The CFS Clinic told me it could take months before I feel remotely normal again.
“I’d still go to hospital if I had to, but I’d be very anxious. You’d be travelling there dreading what you might find when you arrive.”
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Age UK’s definition of corridor care.
Corridor care is closely linked to long waits in A&E. It refers to the practice of providing care to patients in hospital corridors or other non-designated areas and inappropriate care settings. These may be called temporary care environments (TCE) or temporary escalation spaces (TES). At Age UK we refer specifically to older people in this situation who are forced to wait in unsuitable surroundings before formally transferring onto a ward. These can include corridors, or re-purposed cupboards, often on a trolley, sometimes a hard chair, even in more extreme cases in toilets. These places are often uncomfortable, noisy, anything but private, and under-staffed. There is also commonly a lack of facilities: it’s difficult to get food or water or access a toilet. Also, the non-ward spaces lack access to equipment such as access to oxygen, cardiac monitors, suction and other lifesaving equipment in short, it’s not where you want to be if you are very unwell, whatever your age.
Sadly, this type of care is not limited to hospital corridors. We are seeing ‘practice creep’ of corridor care becoming increasingly common in hospital wards and bays, in older people being held in ambulances for extended periods, and in inappropriate discharge facilities (none of which are captured in the 12-hour wait statistics) and we fear these practices may be putting off some older people from going to hospital at all, even if they are very ill.
Age UK’s Winter appeal
Winter can be challenging, but for older people, it can feel even harder. That’s why Age UK has launched a new appeal, to shine a light on the Crisis hiding in plain sight of which corridor care is just one and keep services like the Charity’s free and confidential Advice Line and Telephone Friendship Service running. To find out more visit: www.ageuk.org.uk/crisis. Anyone who needs support can call 0800 169 6565.
ENDS
Notes to Editors.
i] Age UK analysis of data in the release has been provided by NHS England in response to a freedom of information request (FOI-2510-2264184) which provided counts of unplanned attendances at type 1 Emergency Departments where the patient was admitted to hospital by month and year of attendance, age group of patient and the total amount of time spent in the department from decision to admit to admission from April 2018 to March 2025.
Our statistics and data visualisations highlight instances of 24+ hours of Corridor Care, which we have defined as instances of unplanned attendance at type 1 Emergency Departments where the patient was admitted to hospital and the total amount of time spent in the department from decision to admit to admission was 1-3 days. This is the longest duration of time spent in the department that is recorded; Age UK is not certain how it is recorded if a patient spends longer than 3 days in the department.
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