Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Answer of 23rd March 2026 to Question 115902, on Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards, what estimate he has made of the number of patients waiting more than 12 hours in Accident and Emergency before being seen by a doctor.

The 12‑hour accident and emergency (A&E) performance metric recorded and reported by National Health Service trusts measures the time from a patient’s arrival in an emergency department to their admission, transfer, or discharge. This period includes triage, clinical assessments, diagnostics, and treatment, and patients may be seen by one or more clinicians during this time, or in some cases may not require assessment by a doctor depending on their acuity and care pathway.

There is a national target that patients receive an initial clinical assessment within 15 minutes of arrival in A&E. This assessment considers patient acuity, ensuring those most unwell and at greatest risk are identified and prioritised, so that clinical oversight can be adjusted accordingly and to ensure the sickest patients are seen first.

The Department does not hold an estimate of the number of patients who wait more than 12 hours in A&E before being seen by a doctor, as “being seen by a doctor” is not a data point that is routinely captured or reported.