Emergency care doctors have warned the NHS is not ready for the colder months, with overcrowding, corridor care and a looming surge in demand “creating perfect conditions for a terrible winter”.
A new survey of 163 doctors in charge of A&E departments across the UK, conducted by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), found that more than nine in 10 (92%) described current pressure as either high or very high, while 88 per cent said they are under greater strain now than this time a year ago.
Around nine in 10 (91%) told the poll they were very or extremely worried about pressures in the coming months.
And after A&Es in England saw a record 7.3 million people attending hospital for emergency care this summer, leading accident and emergency (A&E) doctors have said the NHS is at the point “where we can’t tell where one crisis ends and the next begins”.
Three in five doctors have warned their A&E departments are currently unsafe for patients, with conditions expected to worsen after the UK experienced higher levels of flu last month compared with the previous four years. The RCEM also warned the NHS is entering this winter with almost a thousand fewer beds in English hospitals compared to last year.
Source: The Independent, 20 October 2026
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