An NHS 12-hour trolley wait refers to a situation in UK hospitals (mainly in England) where a patient waits 12 hours or more in A&E (Emergency Department) after the decision has been made to admit them, but before they get a hospital bed.
Key points:
- ‘Trolley’ doesn’t always mean an actual trolley — it can include waiting on a chair, corridor bed, or temporary space in A&E.
- The 12 hours is counted from the time a doctor decides the patient needs admission, not from when they arrived at A&E.
- It’s used as a measure of hospital overcrowding and pressure.
- Long trolley waits are associated with worse patient outcomes, discomfort, and delays in care.
Example:
If a patient arrives at A&E at 2pm, is told at 6pm they need to be admitted, but doesn’t get a ward bed until 6am the next day — that counts as a 12-hour trolley wait.
