The Royal College of Emergency Medicine is calling on the new Welsh Government to urgently lay out its plans to tackle Emergency Department (ED) overcrowding.

The latest official performance figures for Welsh EDs showed that around one in six people who attended A&E in August waited more than 12 hours before being discharged, admitted or transferred.

With waiting times showing no improvements on 2025, RCEM is airing its concerns ahead of winter – where seasonal illnesses and cold weather will bring even more pressure on an already overwhelmed system.

Dr Rob Perry, Royal College of Emergency Medicine Wales Vice President, said: “Every month, thousands of our patients are left waiting for hours and hours in Welsh Emergency Departments.

“This unacceptable state of affairs, it seems, is still not improving – not even in the warmer months of summer.

“In times gone by, August was an ‘easier’ month in ED – but now we’re seeing long waits for patients the likes of which would have horrified us in the depths of winter.

“Our EDs are in a year-round crisis in which patients are being left to languish in our departments for, all too often, more than half a day. If this is what summer looked like, I fear for winter.

“It is uncomfortable, undignified – and moreover it is dangerous.

“We know that there is an association with long stays in ED and harm to patients.

“The new Welsh Government has signalled that it is working on a plan to address this.

“But with each day, week or month that go by without concrete action, our patients are suffering.

“Meanwhile, staff are trying their hardest to give the best care possible to patients.

“This is not sustainable and I call on the government to expedite their plans to reduce ED overcrowding, restore patient flow through hospitals and reduce long stays.”