Surge in NHS 'trolley waits' of 24 hours or more in recent years - 'shameful neglect'

NHS trolley waits of 24 hours or longer have increased dramatically in recent years, grim new figures show.

The data shows in 2024 there were at least 49,000 incidents of people waiting around a day in A&E after a decision to admit them to hospital to a patient finding a bed. Those over the age of 65 also accounted for almost 70% of all 24-hour trolley waits.

In the most extreme examples, some faced waits of up to 10 days while one pensioner was forced to wait close to six days. The Liberal Democrats obtained the figures from 54 of 141 NHS Trusts - meaning the true number is likely to be far higher.

The party said the data for 2024 represented a 71-fold increase on 2019 when the number of those waiting 24 hours or more stood at 689. The figures released under freedom of information laws shows the number of 24-hour "trolley waits" spiking dramatically during the Covid years.

But the numbers continued to increase in 2023 and 2024. Lib Dem Health spokeswoman Helen Morgan said: “The least patients deserve is the dignity to be treated in an appropriate area.

"Not the ramshackled waiting rooms and corridors that far too many have to suffer through for hours. That is why the government must ensure that this is the last winter crisis anyone will experience and end corridor care by the end of this Parliament."

She added: “The Conservatives’ beyond shameful neglect brought us to this point but the Labour government’s approach of sitting on its hands and hoping it all gets better has not survived contact with reality. Corridor care has become normalised to the point that hospitals are now advertising for specialised nurses to treat patients in hallways."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “No patient should have to spend 24 hours in A&E waiting to be admitted to a ward. We are determined to end the annual winter crisis in urgent care and to cut waiting lists for emergency care, but it will take time."

They added: “We have taken action to protect A&E departments, introducing the new RSV vaccine, delivering more than 27 million Covid and flu vaccines and ending the strikes so staff were on the frontline not the picket line for the first winter in three years. This work continues to ensure patients are treated quickly. We are fundamentally reforming the NHS as part of our Plan for Change, providing more care in the community, so fewer patients have to go to A&E, and those who do are treated faster and with dignity.”