23 January 2026
Data on Wales NHS Emergency Departments (EDs) released for December 2025 shows that the number of people experiencing long waiting times is increasing, with the number of patients waiting more than 12 hours having more than doubled (2.6 times) compared with December 2018 (3,885).
The new Welsh government statistics released on 22 January 2026 show that the winter of 2025 had the worst December on record. Just 52.7% of patients in major EDs were admitted, transferred, or discharged, within four hours of arrival.
The statistics also showed that the number of patients waiting more than eight hours has more than doubled (2.1 times), compared with December 2018 (8,148).
These new figures have prompted the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) to reissue its continued call on Welsh government to address the issues facing the urgent and emergency care system.
The Welsh government quarterly data, covering 1 December to 31 December 2025, showed:
• Only 52.7% of patients in major EDs met the four-hour target
• 26% of people in major EDs waited more than eight hours (17,030 patients)
• 15.5% of people in major EDs waited more than 12 hours (10,174 patients)
• 1,401 patients on average remained in hospital each day of December, despite being medically fit to leave.
Dr Rob Perry, RCEM Vice President for Wales, said: “This week’s data for last December paints a grim picture of how hard our staff are working in our EDs. They are, as always, doing their best to make sure all patients get the care they deserve – while under very difficult circumstances – as both patients and staff deal with the pressures on the frontline. Increased waiting times and corridor care make a challenging task even harder.
“Although we’re dismayed by these statistics, especially to hear that last month was the worst December on record for our four-hour target, sadly we’re not surprised.
“We’re already seeing the continuing winter pressures create more challenges to the NHS, with hospitals at their busiest levels for this time of year since before Covid.
“The norovirus virus, or “vomiting virus”, is also creating additional stress on the health service.
“We all know that long waits for our patients are both unsafe and stressful, so to combat that we urge the government to take a whole-system approach. We also urge the government to tackle long waits and restore flow of patients.”