Nearly 3 million patients attended A&E in June and July, a 15% increase since 2015 to 2.9 million, the highest level in a decade. Twelve-hour trolley waits rose from 47 in June and July 2015 to 38,683 in June 2025, representing 7.2% of attendees. In total 74,150 patients waited at least 12 hours during June and July this year. Several trusts reported over a quarter of patients experiencing 12-hour waits, with Epsom and St Helier and Warrington and Halton among the worst. The Lib Dems called for a winter emergency package including increased vaccine uptake, expanded pharmacy access and more out-of-hours GPs.
Whereas 12-hour trolley waits were almost nonexistent a decade ago, with just 47 recorded throughout June and July in 2015, in June 2025 38,683 patients, 7.2% of all those attending A&E, had to wait 12 hours or more to be admitted. In all, 74,150 patients 1,216 a day waited at least 12 hours during June and July this year. Some hospitals reported even higher proportions of patients facing long waits.
Helen Morgan, the Lib Dem health and social care spokesperson, said the figures showed the NHS was entering a state of permacrisis. What was once a winter crisis has become a year-round disaster, with the health service buckling under pressure all year round, she said. Every day people are put at risk by long, deadly waits with families watching helplessly as loved ones are left in agony on trolleys in A&E corridors.
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