Age UK publish ‘corridor care’ report 

Age UK has published a report entitled, ‘The Longest Wait – Our A&E crisis demands an emergency response’. 

Age UK say the report ‘lays bare the devastating impact that corridor care and long A&E waits can have on older people’, noting that while long waits and corridor care can happen to people of all ages they are particularly likely to happen to older people, especially the oldest old, including some who are extremely ill and those who are dying.  

Statistics in the report are based on a survey of Age UK supporters, with key findings including: 

• 1 in 3 of those aged 90 and older waited 12 hours or more in A&E to be admitted or discharged home in 2024/25.  

• The number of instances of ‘corridor care’ of 12 hours or more has increased 525-fold since 2015/16.  

• Between 2019/20 and 2024/25 the number of attendances to A&E that resulted in a 12-hour wait for a bed increased by nearly 2000%. 

• In 2024, 532,451 people experienced corridor care of 12 hours or more.  

Inequalities are also highlighted, including: 

• More than a third 35% of ethnic minority people aged 50+ experienced NHS care delivered in corridors, compared to 22% of white people the same age. 

• 30% of people aged 50+ with a long-term health condition have experienced corridor care themselves, compared to 18% of those without. 

• 34% of carers aged 50+ have experienced corridor care themselves, compared to 20% of those who are not carers. 

Dementia is mentioned in ‘John’s story’, a case study from a husband who cared for his wife with dementia (see page 7).  

There is also this quote in the report from a member of hospital staff: 

“I had to change an incontinent, frail patient with dementia on the corridor, by the vending machine. It was undignif[ied], I felt so bad at the same time it was my duty to deliver care.”  

Caroline Abrahams CBE, Charity Director at Age UK, says: 

“Many of the stories we have heard from older people and their families are heart-breaking and, to make it worse, the older you are, the more likely you are it seems to endure a lengthy and often uncomfortable wait. Corridor care and long A& E waits are like a rot eating away 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.” 

Read the report, which includes a range of recommendations, here: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/siteassets/documents/campaigns/the-longest-wait/longest-wait.pdf