Nearly 150,000 Aged 90 And Above Wait 12 Hours In England’s A&es Each Year

Almost 150,000 group aged 90 and complete successful England are forced to hold longer than 12 hours successful A&E each year, pinch immoderate experiencing “truly shocking” waits of respective days stuck successful corridors, a study warns.

Older group are besides being near successful their ain excrement and bedewed beds for hours, denied symptom alleviation and forced to watch and perceive different patients dice adjacent to them because they extremity up waiting truthful agelong for care, according to Age UK.

In total, much than 1 cardinal patients aged 60 and complete had to hold much than 12 hours to beryllium transferred, admitted aliases discharged successful type 1 emergency departments successful 2024-25. One successful 3 (33%) aged 90 aliases older – 149,293 – were forced to hold much than 12 hours.

Caroline Abrahams, nan kindness head of Age UK, said: “What’s happening to immoderate very sick older group erstwhile they travel to A&E is simply a situation hiding successful plain show which nan authorities must look up to and return contiguous action to resolve.

“No 1 should person to walk their last days successful a infirmary corridor wherever it’s intolerable for nan unit to supply good, compassionate care, and it’s genuinely shocking that this is what is happening to immoderate very aged group successful immoderate hospitals, coming and each day.”

The study elaborate really 1 older female died from a bosom onslaught aft being near to wait; an 86-year-old man was “lost” by nan infirmary aft being put successful a disused corridor; and a man near connected an IV drip successful a chair for 20 hours soiled himself because he was incapable to get to nan toilet.

A 79-year-old cited successful nan study likened corridor care successful 2025 to historical warfare films pinch “queues of stretchers and group suffering”.

The study besides carried accounts of “puddles of urine” connected floors arsenic immobile patients were incapable to spell to nan toilet and patients forced to usage bedpans successful nationalist corridors.

Age UK said that because of erstwhile antagonistic and upsetting experiences, galore older patients were now reluctant aliases moreover unwilling to spell to A&E, moreover if facing a life-threatening situation.

One widow told nan charity: “My very sick precocious husband, pinch a drip attached, was put successful a chair … he was hopeless to spell to nan loo and location was nary 1 to return him. He was near pinch excrement successful his pants and was near successful this authorities for complete 20 hours. How dreadful he felt – nary modesty.”

Abrahams said: “Many of nan stories we person heard from older group and their families are heartbreaking and, to make it worse, nan older you are, nan much apt you are, it seems, to strengthen a lengthy and often uncomfortable wait.

“Corridor attraction and agelong A&E waits are for illustration a rot eating distant nan bosom of nan NHS, undermining nationalist spot and destroying nan expertise of committed infirmary unit to beryllium capable to return pridefulness successful a occupation good done. As a result, we fearfulness that mediocre value attraction successful and astir immoderate A&E departments is now almost expected – a genuinely dire business we must enactment urgently to move around.”

Ministers should nutrient a scheme to extremity long A&E waits and corridor care, pinch circumstantial deadlines and milestones, she said.

“There’s a batch that hospitals themselves tin do to amended nan business successful their A&Es, but what’s astir needed now is for authorities to measurement up, show wished activity and usage each nan levers astatine its disposal – including targets, inspection and backing – to bring this crisis, which is disproportionately hurting our oldest, to an end.”

The Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, nan party’s wellness spokesperson, besides urged ministers to present a scheme to “end corridor care”.

She said: “These harrowing stories – of aged men and women crammed into infirmary corridors, near successful their ain excrement, incapable to portion and eat – has nary spot successful a modern aliases decent society.”

Prof Nicola Ranger, of nan Royal College of Nursing, called nan study “devastating” and said agelong A&E waits were “a civilized stain” connected nan NHS. “No aged aliases susceptible personification should beryllium forced to strengthen these conditions,” she added. “It is unsafe, undignified, and unacceptable.

“Overstretched and understaffed nursing teams activity difficult each time to present nan champion care, but they look an intolerable task … The reality is nursing unit and patients are being group up to neglect by a strategy that simply isn’t working.”

Daniel Elkeles, of NHS Providers, said nan Age UK study was “shocking” and underlined why urgent finance successful buildings and instrumentality was needed to boost capacity.

Rory Deighton, of NHS Confederation, called for “viable alternatives” to A&E for immoderate patients, including amended entree to GPs, walk-in centres and section support for falls and frailty.

The wellness curate Karin Smyth MP called nan study “heartbreaking”. “No 1 should person attraction successful a corridor – it’s unacceptable, undignified and we are wished to extremity it,” she said.

The authorities was investing £450m successful caller urgent and emergency attraction centres, buying 500 ambulances and building 40 intelligence wellness situation centres, she added.