22 May 2025
Extreme waiting times in Welsh Emergency Departments (EDs) remain consistently high and are putting vulnerable patients at risk of significant harm.
That’s the response from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine as the latest performance data released today (22 May 2025) reveals almost one in every six people waited 12 hours or more in major EDs last month.
That’s 15.2% of attendances – the same percentage when compared to March.
The figures, released by the Welsh Government, also revealed the number of people who endured these waits in April (a total of 10,167 people) is nearly five times higher compared to the same month in 2017 (2,253).
Meanwhile, nearly one in four patients (15, 941) waited eight hours or longer – a slight improvement of 3.2% compared to the previous month.
These stark figures come at the government champions a reduction in treatment waiting lists – falling by two-thirds in four months.
Health Secretary, Jeremy Miles MS, hailing these waits as the lowest level since April 2021.
Dr Rob Perry, RCEM Vice President for Wales, said: “While the government champions the reduction in waiting lists for treatments – there is no cause for celebration when it comes to Emergency Departments where thousands of patients are still facing extreme waits.
“As you read this, someone in an ED will be watching the clock tick, on a trolley in a corridor, counting the minutes and hours they have endured. And if they need to be admitted, they could well wait even longer as clinicians hunt for an available in-patient bed.
“These waits aren’t just inconvenient, they are dangerous – contributing to thousands of excess deaths every year.
“It’s time these waits are given the same political attention as waits for planned procedures. You can’t fix one without fixing the other.
“We look forward to meeting with the government to further discuss a series of recently accepted recommendations aimed at improving Urgent and Emergency Care, ensuring patient safety remains the top priority and working together to resuscitate Emergency Care in Wales.”
Meanwhile, the Royal College of Nursing and the British Medical Association launched a joint petition last month, urging the Welsh Government to take immediate action to end corridor care and the treatment of patients in other inappropriate places.
