Elderly Patients Endure Days-Long Waits for Hospital Beds in Corridor Care Crisis
Damning new analysis from Age UK has revealed that more than 50,000 patients aged 80 and above faced waits of up to three days for a hospital bed last year, with some forced to wash in toilet sinks while languishing on floors. The charity's investigation paints a harrowing picture of routine suffering in NHS emergency departments.
Staggering Scale of Delays for Older Patients
According to figures obtained through Freedom of Information requests covering unplanned attendances at major, consultant-led A&E departments between April 2018 and March 2025, the situation has reached crisis proportions. In the 2024/25 period alone, 101,972 people aged 65 or over waited between one and three days for a bed after doctors decided they needed admission. Among these, 53,870 were octogenarians or older.
Caroline Abrahams, Age UK's charity director, described the statistics as 'staggering', emphasising the human cost behind the numbers. '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,' she stated.
Personal Accounts of Dignity Erosion
The report includes disturbing personal testimonies that illustrate the degrading conditions elderly patients are enduring. David, a 77-year-old patient, spent 30 hours waiting in A&E and 'could barely move'. With no beds or trolleys available, he ended up lying on the floor with only a coat under his head, describing the experience as 'horrendous' after being awake for three consecutive nights.
Another case involved Michael, an 80-year-old who remained on a trolley for 16 hours following a heart attack without blankets or pillows. Jennifer, aged 76, waited 36 hours with no washing facilities and was instructed to wash herself in a toilet sink that lacked a plug. 'I felt like something that had been left on the streets,' she recounted painfully.
Systemic Failures and Institutional Adaptation
The Age UK analysis follows concerning revelations from the Health Services Safety Investigations Body earlier this month, which found some NHS hospitals are now formally adapting corridors and other non-clinical spaces to provide care. These adaptations include installing plug sockets and emergency call bells in an attempt to mitigate patient safety risks in these inadequate environments.
Senior medical staff informed the watchdog that these changes were necessary because clinicians 'could not avoid using these spaces' due to overwhelming demand and capacity shortages. This institutional normalisation of corridor care represents a significant departure from established healthcare standards.
Staff Morale at Breaking Point
A separate report published last week by the Royal College of Nursing warned that collapsing care standards within the NHS are pushing staff morale almost 'past the point of no return'. The combination of overwhelming patient numbers, inadequate resources, and the moral injury of being unable to provide proper care is creating unsustainable working conditions for healthcare professionals.
Rory Deighton, acute and community care director at the NHS Confederation, acknowledged that corridor care creates 'moral injury' for staff who cannot deliver the quality of care they aspire to provide. He noted that older patients often face longer waits due to their typically more complex health needs, which require extended assessment and treatment time.
Performance Figures Reveal Worsening Trends
The latest monthly performance data from NHS England shows the scale of the challenge. In December, 50,775 people waited more than 12 hours in A&E departments from the decision to admit to actual admission, a slight increase from 50,648 in November. Those waiting at least four hours rose to 137,763 from 133,799.
Only 73.8% of patients were seen within four hours in A&E departments last month, down from 74.2% in November. This performance falls significantly short of the Government and NHS England target of 78% by March 2026 for patients to be admitted, discharged, or transferred within four hours of arrival.
Calls for Urgent Government Action
Age UK is demanding immediate intervention from the Government, calling for a funded plan with specific deadlines to reduce long A&E waits and eliminate corridor care entirely. The charity proposes establishing a regular data collection system specifically for corridor care and appointing a dedicated minister accountable for tackling these issues, who would be required to report to Parliament every six months.
Ms Abrahams expressed profound concern about political understanding of the crisis: '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... the sooner the Government makes a start the quicker we'll restore a sense of decency in and around our A&Es.'
Health leaders acknowledge that addressing the root causes requires systemic changes, including improving patient discharge processes, enhancing collaboration with local authorities to bolster social care support, and implementing better frailty screening for vulnerable older patients at hospital admission points. However, without fundamental resolution of social care challenges, experts warn that corridor care practices will likely persist, continuing to compromise both patient dignity and clinical safety.
