The Royal College of Emergency Medicine says as it demands more support from policy makers after another record month for 12-hour waits in Welsh Emergency Departments that it called “dismaying”,

The latest performance data for major Welsh Emergency Departments, released by Stats Wales, showed that 10,493 people waited more than 12 hours before being admitted, discharged or transferred in October.

That’s equivalent to one in every seven people enduring such an “unacceptably” long wait in a Welsh ED, an increase of four per cent compared to last October, despite attendances only rising by 1.8 per cent.

Slight improvements in waiting times were seen in October 2025 compared to the previous month, but across the board waits have continued to deteriorate compared to the same period in 2024.

The latest figures also showed that waits of 12 or more hours have more than doubled compared to October 2018, while the number of people attending emergency departments is actually 0.5 per cent lower.

Around one in four patients waited eight or more hours in October, with only half 53.9 per cent of patients admitted, discharged or transferred within four hours.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) said the figures “reflect the total collapse in hospital flow across recent years.”

Dr Rob Perry, RCEM Vice President for Wales, said: “It is dismaying to see yet another worst month on record.

“With temperatures already starting to drop, this data is a reminder – if one was even needed – that politicians should listen to the alarm bells ringing from every emergency department in the country.

“Thousands of people – loved ones seeking help – found themselves waiting on trolleys or chairs for hours on end, in conditions we know put them at risk of further harm.

“This cannot continue.”