In a damning report by Age UK, the charity has unveiled the harrowing experiences of elderly patients trapped in the grips of the NHS’s A&E crisis. The findings paint a bleak picture, with over 100,000 instances of those aged 65 and above being forced to wait between 24 and 72 hours for a hospital bed in the 2024/25 period – over half of them aged 80 or older.
Compared to just 1,346 such cases in 2018/19, this staggering 75-fold increase lays bare the severe strain the system is under. Elderly patients have been left to endure unimaginable ordeals, with many forced to vomit while sitting on plastic chairs, lie on the floor alone, or even develop pressure sores as they await treatment.
One 77-year-old man, David, recounted spending around 30 hours in A&E, saying: “Every joint was aching. It was excruciating, and I could barely move. They told me there were no beds, no trolleys, nothing. I was left in the reception area all night with no treatment and no one checking on me. I ended up lying on the floor. Someone gave me a coat to put under my head. I’d been awake for three nights by then. It was horrendous.”
Similarly, 80-year-old Michael, who suffered a heart attack, was left on a trolley for 16 hours, “freezing cold with no blankets or pillow. I was terrified about my heart and depressed from the cold. I didn’t dare discharge myself, but it was a dreadful experience.”
The charity’s report also heard from 76-year-old Jennifer, who waited 36 hours and “had no washing facilities at all. I was told to wash in a toilet sink with no plug. I felt like something that had been left on the street.”
NHS data shows that patients who spend more than 12 hours in A&E are more than twice as likely to die within 30 days compared to those seen within two hours. Age UK warns that the country’s most elderly are bearing the brunt of this crisis, as they often present with complex, multiple health needs that take longer to assess.
Caroline Abrahams, Age UK’s director, said: “It is staggering that more than 100,000 over-65s had to wait between one and three days for a hospital bed over the course of a year, more than half of them aged over 80. Waiting for more than 24 hours, often on a hard chair in a corridor or other overspill area, when you are extremely unwell, in pain, probably alone, maybe fearing for your life, would be horrific at any age, let alone if you are in your eighties or beyond.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care acknowledged the “shocking and appalling” stories, stating that the government is “working hard to turn things around” through increased investment and new initiatives. However, Age UK remains unconvinced that the government fully grasps the severity of the situation and has the ability to resolve it.
