Almost 19,000 NHS patients were forced to wait three days or more in A&E departments between April 2023 and March 2024, according to a freedom of information request to NHS England obtained by Channel 4’s Dispatches programme. The figures represent a 60% increase on the previous year, highlighting the ongoing crisis in emergency care.
Channel 4’s investigation included secret filming by an undercover reporter working as a trainee healthcare assistant at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. The footage showed patients enduring long waits in uncomfortable conditions, including one man forced to urinate in a trolley and a woman left crying in agony for hours. Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, described the scenes as “harrowing” and said the crisis was year-round, not confined to winter.
Nearly 400,000 people waited more than 24 hours across A&E departments in the same period, a 5% rise on the previous year, with 54,000 waiting over two days. The King’s Fund thinktank noted that over a quarter of patients missed the four-hour target, and ambulance response times for emergencies averaged 33 minutes, well above the 18-minute target.
A spokesperson for the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust expressed regret, stating: “We are very sorry that our patients have experienced anything less than the quality care we strive for.” They acknowledged challenges but said the trust was investing in services and making improvements, while also disputing some of the claims made in the programme.
