12-hour A&E waits soar to record high in England

The number of people waiting in emergency departments rose sharply to 71,517 in January

The number of patients waiting more than 12 hours in A&E has soared to a record high.

The latest NHS England data shows the figure shot up from 50,775 in December to 71,517 in January. This is a 40 per cent jump, and the highest number since monthly records began in August 2010.

The number waiting at least four hours to be admitted stood at 161,141 last month, up from 137,763 in December, and the second-highest figure on record.

The government and NHS England have set a target for March 2026 of 78 per cent of patients attending A&E to be admitted, discharged or transferred within four hours.

Some 72.5 per cent of patients in England were seen within four hours in A&Es last month, down from 73.8 per cent in December.

Latest NHS figures show the number of patients waiting more than 12 hours in A&E has soared to a record high (PA)

One in four people (137,763) waited in December for more than four hours between admission and staff finding them a bed, while one in 10 (50,775) waited more than 12 hours. That’s thousands more patients than the NHS target for a maximum of 22 per cent of people waiting over four hours.

The figures come after a damning review into NHS corridor care revealed a person died while waiting on a trolley in a hospital corridor, and diabetic patients were left for hours without food.

Other sick patients were left on broken beds in pitch-black corridors for 24 hours with no privacy, according to a review of patient care in emergency departments in December by the group Healthwatch England.

Many patients told Healthwatch that the lack of privacy while waiting or being treated in corridors led them to feel as though they had been stripped of their dignity, especially patients who had issues going to the toilet.

An elderly patient, from Havering, told Healthwatch that the person next to them died while they were waiting for 40 hours on a trolley in a corridor, adding that they had “no dignity” and found it “very scary”.

The NHS is currently battling one of the busiest winters on record.

A&E staff experienced a record-high January of 2,320,266 A&E attendances – 4.6 per cent higher than in January 2025 – while ambulance staff have faced a record number of incidents across December and January.

NHS data shows 206,800 more people were admitted, transferred or discharged in less than four hours in A&E departments across winter so far this year when compared to last year.

Duncan Burton, chief nursing officer for England, said: “Thanks to early preparations and careful planning, ambulance waits are shorter and A&E treatment times are faster this winter – even as staff face record demand.”