NHS targets
In December 2022 more than 54,500 patients waited over 12 hours in emergency departments in England after doctors decided they needed a hospital bed. That is the highest-ever number and almost treble the figure for May.  The Royal College of Emergency Medicine found that people over 80 were spending 16 hours in emergency departments waiting for care or a bed. In 2021 it was 9 hours.  Such long waits mean people are less likely to recover.  In the winter of 2022/3 there were long delays when ambulances arrived at hospitals and attempted to hand patients over to emergency staff.