Responding to new analysis from the Nuffield Trust, which found that 43% of over-80s waited more than 12 hours between arrival in an emergency department and admission to a hospital ward in 2025, BMA consultants committee emergency medicine lead Dr Den Langhor said:

“This sobering analysis illustrates the very human side of what we mean when we say ‘corridor care’: the oldest and often most vulnerable people in our communities waiting shockingly long times in completely inappropriate spaces before being admitted to hospital to receive emergency care.

“As an emergency medicine consultant, I can finish a shift with patients in a waiting room or on trolleys in corridors, only to return the next day to see them still there. In the worst cases, patients may spend days in emergency departments waiting for beds on the wards.

“We’ve made progress in the last year in getting the Government to recognise the corridor care crisis, agreeing a definition and publishing data, but this is not enough, especially if hospitals are able to game the data to obscure how bad things are on the ground. There are also questions at how useful data is that doesn’t distinguish between patients who received corridor care for 45 minutes, and those who experience corridor care for much longer periods of time.

“We’ve had previous commitments from the Government to eradicate corridor care completely, and the new Health Secretary must not let this slide. It will require support and resourcing across the whole of the NHS and care system to increase capacity. The failure to do so will continue to have knock-on effects that ultimately leave patients suffering in pain and anguish in emergency department waiting rooms, corridors or ambulances queuing outside.”

Ends

Notes to editors

The BMA is a professional association and trade union representing and negotiating on behalf of all doctors in the UK. A leading voice advocating for outstanding health care and a healthy population. An association providing members with excellent individual services and support throughout their lives.