15 May 2026
Dr Ian Higginson, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “We welcome James Murray to the role of Secretary of State.
“As his predecessor pointed out earlier this week, some metrics in the health service are going in the right direction but there is still lots more to do.
“The most pressing issue facing our patients in Emergency Departments are the long waits they experience when waiting for a bed. Hundreds of thousands of patients each year are waiting more than 12 hours, let alone 4 hours, for admission in our Emergency Departments; many are coming to harm, or even dying, in association with these long waits.
“Corridor care has become normalised and our hospitals are full. The situation is disturbing.
“The government set itself the goal of ending corridor care by 2029, a crucial step on the way to eliminating these long waits, which will save lives and significantly improve care for patients in Emergency Departments across the country.
“This is a promise to which we will continue to hold the government to, and we look forward to engaging and working with the new Secretary of State – as well as learning how he intends to make progress on this.”