Record number waiting for more than 12 hours in A&E to be transferred to a ward

The number of patients waiting 12 hours or more in A&E to be admitted to a ward has hit a new record high.

- RACHEL CLUN

Figures from NHS England show that in January, 61,529 people waited more than 12 hours in A&E departments from the decision to admit them to actually being admitted, up from 54,207 in December.

The figures break the December 2022 record of 54,573 patients waiting to be admitted to a different hospital ward.

The record comes as the number of hospital beds being occupied by patients who were medically fit to be discharged also hit a new record for this winter, with an average of 14,087 beds taken up by these patients.

Near-record case numbers of the winter vomiting bug norovirus are also continuing to maintain pressure on England’s hospitals. An average of 948 patients a day were hospitalised with norovirus last week, according to NHS England – slightly down from the previous week’s seasonal high of 961 patients, but more than two-thirds higher than in the same week last year.

Despite the ongoing pressure, separate monthly figures show that in January nearly three in four patients (73 per cent) were seen within four hours of attending A&E, an improvement on December (71.1 per cent) and January 2024 (70.4 per cent).