Corridor care and long waits: what are people experiencing in A&E? (Healthwatch, 11 February 2026)

Summary

There were more than 2.3 million A&E visits during December 2025, with more than 400,000 people admitted to hospital. Resident doctors were also on strike for five days in December, putting hospitals under even greater pressure than usual.

Of those admitted to hospital as emergencies, one in four people waited over four hours between admission and staff finding them a bed. One in ten waited over 12 hours.

To understand people’s winter A&E experiences, Healthwatch reviewed their feedback on urgent and emergency care from December 2025, focusing on older people. Older and/or frail patients are at greater risk of harm under corridor care, including falls, dehydration and delirium, according to a Health Services Safety Investigation Body report published last month. 

Related reading on the hub:

• Corridor care and patient safety
• Corridor care guidance needs to move beyond what “should” happen and grapple honestly with why it isn’t (a blog by Claire Cox)
• The crisis of corridor care in the NHS: patient safety concerns and incident reporting