Elderly patients waiting average of seven hours on A&E trolleys

Elderly patients are waiting an average of seven hours on A&E trolleys, with delays of up to five and a half days in some cases.

NHS data show that almost 100,000 elderly patients endured waits of more than 12 hours last year – a 25-fold increase since 2019.

The figures, revealed under Freedom of Information disclosures, show average trolley waits for patients over 65 reached seven hours in 2023. The average wait compared to six hours for all patients.

One elderly patient at Great Western Hospital in Swindon waited 131 hours – five and a half days – to be admitted to a ward after a decision to admit, the records show.

The figures show two in three patients facing 12-hour waits in A&E were pensioners, prompting warnings that the elderly are hardest hit by the “corridor care crisis”.

The statistics come from responses from 48 of 140 NHS hospital trusts, meaning the true numbers are likely to be far higher. Sixteen of the trusts admitted patients had been left waiting in hospital corridors for two days or more.

Corridor care crisis

NHS data show more than 1.5 million patients faced waits of 12 hours in major A&E departments in England last year. In more than one million cases, a decision had been taken to admit such patients, with delays usually caused by shortages of beds.

Research has found that long waits in A&E can prove deadly. Analysis by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine suggests about 270 excess deaths a week last year were linked to waits of at least 12 hours in A&E.

The Liberal Democrats, who compiled the data, called for an urgent investment in front line care, with an expansion in fully staffed beds, and social care reform, to reduce the number of people stuck in hospital despite being medically well.

Sir Ed Davey, the party’s leader, said: “These shocking figures reveal a corridor care crisis, with elderly patients left waiting for days in A&E corridors to get the treatment they need.

“It is heartbreaking to think that so many older people are being forced to wait so long on hospital corridors, many in pain, because there aren’t enough beds available. We know that long A&E waits are not just distressing for patients, but can have a serious impact on their health.”

Years of neglect under this Conservative government have turned our A&E departments into centres of chaos and misery. We urgently need to invest in emergency care and increase the number of hospital beds to make sure no patient is left waiting in corridors for days on end.”

In October, The Telegraph revealed figures showing that two thirds of patients enduring long waits in A&E are over 60 – with those in their 90s facing the worst delays.

The analysis by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine found that while over-60s represented 29 per cent of A&E attendees in England in 2022, they made up 63 per cent of those stuck on trolleys for at least 12 hours.

A quarter of patients over the age of 70 attending A&E  suffered such delays, along with one third of those over the age of 90. Among those below the age of 60, the figure was one in 20, according to the data, provided to the college under Freedom of Information disclosures.

A spokesman for Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “Great Western Hospitals, like the wider NHS, frequently faces very high demand from patients who need a hospital bed.

“This does mean that on occasion some patients are having to wait a long time to be admitted to a ward. When patients are waiting in one of our assessment areas for a bed to become available they continue to receive diagnostic investigations, medical treatment and supervision from our clinical teams in an environment very similar to a ward.

“Patients are on beds with lockers – not trolleys – and most usual ward services are available.”