Corridor Care ‘endemic’ in Welsh A&Es as RCEM research reveals shocking reality

24 March 2025

Every Emergency Department in Wales is caring for people in corridors new data from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has revealed.

The College, which represents Emergency clinicians across Wales and the rest of the UK, said the data shows the problem is now ‘endemic’.

The data was collated via a ‘snapshot’ survey which was conducted on three different dates and times in January and February 2025 with all 12 Emergency Departments in Wales submitting results.

The survey asked clinicians to record various data points including how many patients were in the department, how many were being treated in corridors and in ambulances, and how many were waiting to be admitted.

The findings, published today (24 March 2025), reveal that all 12 EDs in Wales had people being treated in corridors or waiting areas, and on at least one of the three sample days, all had patients being cared for in the back of ambulances.

In total 44% of patients in departments at the time were waiting for an in-patient bed.

The data was collected in Wales’ EDs on three days and at different times – at 7pm on Monday 27 January, 9am on Saturday 1 February and at 1pm on Thursday 6 February – to give and insight into demand.

The results revealed that:

12 out of 12 Welsh EDs had patients being treated in corridors
Of the average total of 619 patients present in EDs at the time, 13.5% were being treated on trolleys in corridors and other inappropriate spaces.
A further 10.7% of patients in waiting areas were deemed as needing a clinical space.
43.9% (272) of all patients were waiting for an inpatient bed.
Every ED’s cubicles were full, with the average cubicle occupancy being 176%. The highest being 278% in one department where there were 75 patients and just 27 cubicles.

Responding to the findings RCEM Vice President Wales, Dr Rob Perry, said: “Recently the Welsh Government said that compromising the quality of care, privacy, or dignity of patients only happens on ‘occasions when the NHS faces exceptional pressure’.

“Well our research clearly shows that exceptional pressure is now the everyday norm in Wales’ Emergency Departments.

“And this must not be dismissed as just being down to but the annual seasonal upsurge. I am confident the results would be similar which ever time of the year we undertook this survey.

“These findings should shock and shame the Government into action.

“So called ‘corridor care’ is dangerous, degrading, dehumanising and it is now endemic here in Wales. Addressing it and its causes must be a political priority, and it must act now.”

The survey results have been released following the monthly ED performance data for Wales.

It shows that in February 2025:

57,970 people attended major Emergency Department in Wales – 6.2% lower than January 2025 (61,782).
Just 56.1% of patients in major EDs were admitted, transferred, or discharged within four hours from arrival.
23.8% of major ED attendances waited more than eight hours (13,775 patients).
And more than one in every seven patients (8,942) were delayed by 12 hours or more.
When it comes to in-patients, there was a daily average of almost 1,500 people who experienced a delay of more than 48 hours from the point when they were deemed medically well enough to leave hospital.

Dr Perry added: “It is clear from this monthly data that although there has been a small drop in the number of attendances the fundamental issue of moving people from the ED into the hospital and home again when well enough persist.

“Almost half those who visited a Welsh ED last month faced a wait of more than four hours – and thousands more were there at least 12 hours.

“Long waits, crowding, so called corridor care – it is all unacceptable. Our members and our patients deserve so much better.”

In January a Welsh Coroner criticised the ‘normalisation of corridor care’ in a prevention of future death report. And in the same month the RCN in Wales called on the Welsh Government to end corridor care in the country.