A new report has brought to light what is being described as a glaring crisis within the NHS, where patients endure traumatic conditions reminiscent of a war zone, sometimes witnessing others pass away amid appalling circumstances.

The report highlights the plight of elderly patients, who often find themselves in undignified situations—left on trolleys with urine-soaked sheets and stripped of any sense of privacy.

According to Age UK, the harrowing accounts they’ve gathered reveal the ‘truly shocking’ and ‘heartbreaking’ realities faced within English hospitals on a daily basis.

The charity has sounded the alarm over the distress caused by past hospital stays, noting many patients are now reluctant to seek hospital care, even when facing life-threatening health issues.

Age UK has voiced its concerns that substandard care is becoming an expectation in some Accident & Emergency departments, and they fear the situation could deteriorate further as the NHS braces for the winter months.

One individual recounted their ordeal as being akin to scenes from a war film, characterized by ‘queues of stretchers and people suffering.’

Others told how they heard or saw people pass away as they waited for their own care.

The charity’s report details the case of a woman who died from a heart attack after being left to wait; a patient who was ‘lost’ after being put on a disused corridor; and a man left hooked up to a drip in a chair for 20 hours, who soiled himself because he was unable to get to the toilet.

Caroline Abrahams, Age UK charity director

It tells of ‘puddles of urine’ on the floor as immobile patients are unable to go to the toilet and of patients being forced to use bedpans in corridors.

One elderly man who cared for his wife in hospital stayed awake for 36 hours straight because he was so concerned about how she would be treated.

Elsewhere, patients have faced extremely long waits, with some waiting days in corridors before being admitted to a ward, the charity said.

It called on the Government to ‘urgently’ tackle corridor care as it warned that older people are disproportionately affected.

Ministers should produce a plan to end long A&E waits and corridor care, with specific deadlines and milestones, it added.

A 79-year-old woman from south London said: ‘The corridors were lined with patients on trolleys, hooked up to drips, some moaning in pain.

‘It reminded me of war films, with queues of stretchers and people suffering.

‘I was next to a man who was clearly unwell. He was alone for some time, then his wife was brought in.

Professor Nicola Ranger, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing

‘They whispered as they had little privacy. Then, after a long silence, she was led away, crying.

‘I’m certain he died. And he died right next to me.’

A grieving widow told the charity: ‘My very ill late husband, with a drip attached, was put in a chair… he was desperate to go to the loo and there was no one to take him.

‘He was left with excrement in his pants and was left in this state for over 20 hours. How dreadful he felt – no modesty.’

And another person said: ‘Some people, many elderly, had been there for many hours. Absolutely no dignity. There were puddles of urine on the floor, which meant those poor people were lying in a wet bed.’

According to the latest figures for England, 75 per cent of patients were seen within four hours in A&Es in September.

The number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England from a decision to admit to actually being admitted stood at 44,765 in September, up from 35,909 in August.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK, said: ‘What’s happening to some very ill older people when they come to A&E is a crisis hiding in plain sight which the Government must face up to and take immediate action to resolve.

‘No one should have to spend their final days in a hospital corridor where it’s impossible for the staff to provide good, compassionate care, and it’s truly shocking that this is what is happening to some very old people in some hospitals, today and every day.

‘And as we head into winter, we fear that an already very difficult situation in and around some A&Es will get even worse.’

She added: ‘Corridor care and long A&E waits are like a rot eating away the heart of the NHS, undermining public trust and destroying the ability of committed hospital staff to be able to take pride in a job well done.

‘As a result, we fear that poor quality care in and around some A&E departments is now almost expected – a truly dire situation we must act urgently to turn around.’

Professor Nicola Ranger, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: ‘Corridor care is a moral stain on our health service, and this report is yet more evidence of its devastating consequences.

‘No elderly or vulnerable person should be forced to endure these conditions. It is unsafe, undignified, and unacceptable.

‘Overstretched and understaffed nursing teams work hard every day to deliver the best care, but they face an impossible task.

‘You simply cannot provide good quality care when patients are lining corridors or are pushed into any other available space, no matter how inappropriate.

‘The reality is nursing staff and patients are being set up to fail by a system that simply isn’t working.’

The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.