On October 31, 2025, Age UK sounded a loud and urgent alarm about what it calls "the longest wait"—the crisis of corridor care and prolonged A&E (Accident & Emergency) waits in England’s hospitals, especially for elderly patients. The charity’s new report, titled The Longest Wait - Our A&E Crisis Demands an Emergency Response, lays bare the devastating impact of this growing problem and calls for immediate government intervention. It’s a crisis, Age UK insists, that’s been hiding in plain sight, with heartbreaking consequences for some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.
The numbers are staggering. According to Age UK and as reported by the BBC, in 2024/25, one in three people aged 90 and older waited 12 hours or more in A&E for admission or discharge. That’s not just a statistic—it’s over 32% of the oldest old, many of whom are extremely ill or even dying. The scale of the problem has exploded: since 2015/16, the number of instances of so-called "corridor care"—where patients are treated in hallways or other makeshift spaces—lasting 12 hours or more has increased 525-fold. Between 2019/20 and 2024/25, attendances resulting in 12-hour waits for a bed surged by nearly 2,000%. In the past year alone, more than half a million people—532,451 to be exact—experienced corridor care of 12 hours or more.
But behind every data point is a story. Age UK’s report is filled with harrowing personal accounts. There’s Susan, 79, from south London, who arrived at hospital after a heart attack only to wait 22 hours for a bed, much of it spent on a couch in a curtained-off area with no privacy. She recalled, "I was next to a man who was clearly unwell. He was alone for some time, then his wife was brought in. They whispered as they had little privacy. Then, after a long silence, she was led away, crying. I’m certain he died. And he died right next to me." According to NationalWorld, another patient was left in a disused corridor for 36 hours, while one man, unable to access a toilet, soiled himself and remained in that state for over 20 hours. Stories of patients using bedpans in corridors, lying on the floor due to uncomfortable chairs, or even dying before reaching a ward are not uncommon.
The emotional toll is immense—not only for patients but for their families and hospital staff. According to Age UK, a third of its supporters said they would be less likely to go to hospital because of the corridor care crisis, and 53% said they would feel more anxious if they found themselves there. In a recent poll of people aged 65 and older, 89% (representing 11.7 million people) agreed that corridor care is undignified and unsafe, and 79% (10.4 million) said patients should never be cared for in corridors under any circumstances.
Staff are feeling the strain, too. The Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) 2025 report, On the Frontline of the UK’s Corridor Care Crisis, found that two-thirds (67%) of nursing staff deliver care in inappropriate settings every day. Among A&E nurses, a staggering 91% said that patient care and safety are being compromised. Professor Nicola Ranger, chief executive and general secretary of the RCN, described the situation as a "moral stain" on the health service, saying, "No elderly or vulnerable person should be forced to endure these conditions. It is unsafe, undignified, and unacceptable. Overstretched and understaffed nursing teams work hard every day to deliver the best care, but they face an impossible task."
So, what’s causing this crisis to spiral out of control? Age UK points to systemic issues within hospitals, particularly the inability to discharge patients who are medically fit to leave. On any given day, there are 13,000 people—almost all aged 65 and above—stuck in hospitals despite being ready to go home. The reasons are varied: poor coordination within hospitals, a lack of social care and community support, and delays in accessing community health services like district nurses and occupational therapists. This bottleneck means beds aren’t available for new patients arriving in A&E, leading to the now-routine practice of treating people in corridors or side rooms.
The consequences are dire. As Age UK’s director Caroline Abrahams put it, "What’s happening to some very ill older people when they come to A&E is a crisis hiding in plain sight which the Government must face up to and take immediate action to resolve. No one should have to spend their final days in a hospital corridor where it’s impossible for the staff to provide good, compassionate care, and it’s truly shocking that this is what is happening to some very old people in some hospitals, today and every day." She warned that as winter approaches, an already difficult situation is likely to get even worse. "Corridor care and long A&E waits are like a rot eating away at the heart of the NHS, undermining public trust and destroying the ability of committed hospital staff to be able to take pride in a job well done. As a result, we fear that poor quality care in and around some A&E departments is now almost expected—a truly dire situation we must act urgently to turn around."
The government, for its part, acknowledges the gravity of the situation. Health minister Karin Smyth told BBC, "No one should receive care in a corridor—it’s unacceptable, undignified and we are determined to end it." She pointed to increased NHS funding, a pledge to publish detailed data on corridor care for the first time, and new investments: "To tackle a problem you’ve got to be honest about it. For the first time, the NHS will measure and publish the number of patients waiting in corridors. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. To give patients the care they deserve, we’re investing £450 million to build same day urgent and emergency care centres, buying 500 new ambulances, building 40 new mental health crisis centres, and giving NHS leaders on the ground more power to deliver local solutions."
But Age UK and the RCN argue that more decisive government action is needed—and fast. Age UK’s recommendations include the urgent production of a funded operational plan to reduce long A&E waits and end corridor care, with clear deadlines and milestones. The charity also calls for a robust system to collect and publish regular data on corridor care, the appointment of a minister specifically accountable for reducing long waits, and accelerated peer learning programs for hospitals to share what works. Crucially, it wants to see the full implementation of the NHS’s 10 Year Health Plan, especially the "hospital to home" shift and the creation of a Neighbourhood Health Service, ensuring social care and voluntary sector organizations are fully involved—so fewer older people end up in A&E in the first place.
As the NHS heads into another challenging winter, the stories and statistics from Age UK’s report serve as both a warning and a call to action. The crisis of corridor care is no longer hidden; it’s out in the open, demanding an emergency response. For the nation’s oldest and most vulnerable, the hope is that this time, someone is listening—and ready to act.
