Royal College warns of worst January on record for A&E waits in Wales

Amelia Jones 

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has warned of systemic problems in the Welsh NHS as emergency departments suffered their worst January on record.

The RCEM said performance reached record lows, with the highest proportion of patients ever waiting more than four, eight and twelve hours.

The new statistics show that nearly half (49.3%) of patients in the EDs waited for four hours or longer, and 1 in 6 (17.5%) waited for 12 hours or longer.

Other statistics show that 11,367 people waited for 12 hours or longer, nearly four times (a 278% increase) the figure for the same month 10 years ago (3,006 people). Yet attendances have increased by just 11% in the same period.

Both measures have worsened compared with January last year, when 44% of patients waited more than four hours and 16.8% waited at least 12 hours.

The figures contrast with the latest Welsh Government data, which show overall NHS waiting lists have fallen for seven consecutive months, reaching their lowest level in almost three years.

It was reported that there were just under 741,000 patient pathways waiting to start treatment at the end of December, a fall of around 16,900 on the previous month, while long waits of more than two years have fallen by more than 90% from their peak.

The average waiting time for treatment also fell significantly to around 19 weeks.

Despite this progress in planned care, the RCEM said pressures in emergency departments remain severe.

Dr Rob Perry, RCEM’s Vice President for Wales, said: “January’s data shows the harsh reality of the situation in our EDs, and the impact it is having on patients, despite the best efforts of staff, who continue to go above and beyond – not just in January but all year round.

“Our members will always do their best to provide all patients with the care they need, but the systemic problems that are resulting in lengthy waiting times and corridor care only make this difficult task more challenging. Long waits for patients increase frustrations all round, but more seriously, put lives at risk.

“To resolve the crisis in EDs, the Welsh government needs to make a public commitment to end overcrowding and improve the flow of patients across hospital pathways. It must also ensure enough consultant staffing, and improving IT systems to reduce the administrative burden on staff and reduce clinical errors.

“Only by tackling these issues, will we ensure that EDs can continue to provide the safe levels of care they want to and that their patients deserve.”

Commenting on the latest statistics, Peter Fox MS, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee and the new Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care said:  “It is clear that after 27 years of Plaid-backed Labour Governments, our NHS is broken. In some areas, the situation is getting worse.

“Ambulance red call response times have gotten worse and the longest emergency department waits have shot up over 10%. It’s clear that Labour and Plaid are failing those in need of emergency care.

“The Welsh Conservatives have a credible plan to fix our NHS. We will declare a health emergency, increase the number of beds in our hospitals, establish an NHS Wales Reserves Service to provide additional resilience in times of peak pressure to improve patient flow and cut waits.”

When asked for their response, the Welsh Government said: “January 2026 saw the highest number of emergency department attendances for that month on record.

“We have allocated extra funding this year to each health board to help better manage more people in the community and through same day emergency care services to help reduce pressure on departments.

“The measures we have put in place such as improving hospital flow, strengthening community-based care, reducing ambulance handover delays and two winter sprint fortnights are designed to support sustained improvements.”