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March 2026 - Health

Recent data shows a record number of people attending A&E in England in January 2026 waited 12 or more hours to be seen. Additionally, the number of those waiting at least four hours before being admitted to a ward also reached record levels, highlighting a worsening crisis in emergency care as A&E departments in England struggle to meet government national targets on patient wait times.

According to the latest NHS England monthly performance data, January 2026 saw a significant decline in A&E performance targets across a number of key metrics, including wait times of 12 and four hours and the national four-hour target. The data shows that the number of people experiencing 12-hour A&E waits (from decision to admit to hospital) rose dramatically, from 50,775 in December 2025 to 71,517 in January 2026. This not only represents a 40% increase but is also the highest recorded figure since monthly data sets were first recorded in 2010.

Additionally, the number of four-hour waits (decision to admit to admission) rose by 17%, from 137,763 in December 2025 to 161,141 in January 2026, which is the second-highest figure recorded. While the number of people who waited 12 hours from arrival to be seen in A&E was 192,168, the highest number since this measure began in February 2023.

The latest government target set for A&E wait times wants to ensure that by March 2026, at least 78% of all patients visiting A&E are admitted, transferred, or discharged within four hours. However, up to January 2026, this was the case for just 72.5% of A&E patients, down from 73.8% in December 2025.

Dr Vicky Price, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, acknowledges that long waits in A&E are “getting worse” and Nuffield Trust deputy director of research, Sarah Scobie says that, “Pressure is building to meet the March target for having under 22% of patients facing waits longer than 4 hours in A&E ……a 6% improvement by spring “may not sound like much, but the NHS has struggled to make even tiny incremental improvements in recent months, despite staff working flat out”.

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