Crisis in Emergency Departments
One in 10 patients who visited major emergency departments in England last year spent more than 12 hours there. In 2025, 1.75 million patients waited that long for treatment and discharge or found a bed in a ward – only slightly better than in 2024.
Long Waiting Times and Corridor Nursing
The Royal College of Nursing warned that long waiting times and corridor nursing – where patients are placed in makeshift areas for hours – were having a devastating impact. The union released statements from members across the UK describing unsafe and undignified care. A nurse said animals were treated better at the vet.
Government Response
The government said that was unacceptable, but it was still dealing with the legacy it inherited. Health Secretary admitted corridor provision remained a problem and said the NHS was “falling short”. “It should never be normalized,” he added. He said he was committed to ending this practice before the end of the parliamentary session and would soon start publishing data on it to ensure transparency.
Improvements in Some Areas
However, he said there had been improvements in some measures, such as ambulance response times, compared to last year. And in other areas of care, he said patients are "starting to feel the difference" and pointed to progress on the hospital waiting list.
Care in Hallways
Regarding care in the hallways, nurses described feeling embarrassed and ashamed by the situation, saying patients were being crammed into hallways and being treated in kitchens, dining areas and side rooms. In one case, a nurse reported that a patient died after suffocating undetected in a hallway, while others said they had to hold sheets up around patients during intimate procedures.
Patient Experiences
A nurse said: "It breaks my heart to be at work and see a patient, usually an elderly patient, in the hallway who comes back two days later and is still there." Another described the system as broken and patients having to endure a "sort of torture", while another nurse added: "We wouldn’t treat animals like that in a veterinary practice, so why in a hospital?"
RCN General Secretary
RCN general secretary said the testimonies showed the “devastating human consequences” of pressure in hospitals. She spoke after a flood of hospitals declared critical incidents in the first two weeks of the new year.
Hospital Pressures
At one hospital, managers warned that patients were in the corridors and apologized for "significant and unacceptable delays" in the emergency department. The BBC has seen the impact of the pressure first hand, with staff describing "relentless pressure" and the daily challenge of "maintaining a patient’s dignity in a hallway".
Patient Stories
Among them was a patient who had fallen and was suffering from severe chest pain, and spent nine hours waiting in a chair. She said she felt “so tired” and “confused about what was happening.” Another patient arrived by ambulance and was treated for an infection and dehydration, but had waited 48 hours for a bed on a ward.
NHS Response
Although she praised the care she received, specialist staff had to come to the emergency room to monitor her rehabilitation as no suitable bed was available. An emergency room consultant said: “This is not the level of care we want to provide,” and added that it puts additional pressure on the system and the care team in the emergency department.
Waiting Times
Monthly data on 12-hour waiting times is published by NHS England. In 2024, 10.5% of patients waited 12 hours or longer in large emergency departments from arrival to treatment and discharge or found a bed on a ward when they needed to be admitted. In 2025 it was 10.1%.
Crisis in the NHS
Dr. Ian Higginson said the pressures seen were taking an “immense toll on patients”. “They often have to endure these conditions for hours, if not days, because hospitals are overcrowded.” The Liberal Democrats proposed giving patients a legal right to be admitted or treated and discharged within 12 hours to help end what they say is a "deadly crisis in hallway services".
Waiting List
Figures were also published on the waiting list for planned hospital treatments, such as knee and hip operations. At the end of November, there were 7.31 million patients on the waiting list – a decrease from 7.4 million the previous month – the lowest level since February 2023.
NHS Support Program
NHS England has published an assessment of its support program for areas with the highest rates of economic inactivity. NHS trusts in the 20 areas with the highest unemployment received additional support with specialist teams of doctors and managers deployed to try to reduce the waiting list. Over the past year, the waiting list has fallen by 4.2% – three times faster than elsewhere.
