Patients are spending significantly longer in Croydon University Hospital’s A&E department, with new data showing average times have increased by nearly 52% since 2021.
Although patients are being assessed more quickly on arrival, staff are facing mounting pressure as the number of people attending A&E has increased since COVID.
Local Labour councillors say the figures reflect what residents have experienced for years, and argue that better social care—not just A&E expansion—is the solution.
According to a freedom of information request gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the average total time a patient spends at the Mayday Road A&E facility has jumped from 257 minutes in 2021 to 390 minutes in 2025. This represents an increase of 51.8 per cent between January 2021 and December 2025.
The increase has partly been driven by rising demand, with more patients attending Croydon University Hospital’s A&E department, commonly known as Mayday.
Annual attendances climbed from 133,611 in 2021 to 155,245 in 2025—a rise of 16.2 per cent over four years.
At its lowest point, in January 2021, the department saw just 7,767 patients walk through its doors. However, as the country emerged from lockdown, those numbers quickly rose, with monthly attendances jumping to 12,116 by May 2021.
A graph showing the average wait time increase at Croydon University Hospital A&E since 2021 Credit: LDRS
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, who are responsible for the department, told the LDRS: “Like many NHS organisations, we have seen a rise in demand for urgent and emergency care over recent years.”
It added that longer stays in A&E stemmed from a combination of “more complex patient needs” and “wider pressures” on patient flow, including delays in discharge and pressures on inpatient bed availability.
Despite the heavier workload, the trust’s triage nurses have reduced the average time patients wait for an initial clinical assessment in A&E. The average time fell by 19.4 per cent, from 8.2 minutes in 2021 to 6.6 minutes in 2025.
The trust told the LDRS it is now implementing a range of measures to improve patient flow, maximise bed capacity, reduce discharge delays and ensure patients receive care in the most appropriate setting.
A spokesperson added: “Alongside this, we continue to invest in our workforce, digital technology and service transformation, including expanding our Same Day Emergency Care and frailty services to help more patients receive treatment without needing an overnight hospital stay, while making the best use of existing capacity to deliver safe, high-quality care.”
What impact is this having on Croydon, and what is the solution?
Labour councillors for West Thornton, where the hospital is based, told the LDRS the figures are unsurprising and reflect the pressures the hospital has faced for years.
“The increase in A&E waiting times reflects what many residents have been telling us,” they said.
West Thornton councillors Janet Campbell, Rym Daoud and Stuart King told the LDRS the rising demand is also being felt beyond the hospital itself, with increasing pressure on local roads, parking and public transport, particularly at peak times.
However, they were also keen to recognise the “extraordinary work” of NHS staff at the hospital and said: “These figures highlight pressures across the entire health and care system rather than simply within the hospital itself.”
They argued the solution is not simply expanding the A&E facility, but creating a more integrated health and care system with a greater focus on social care and prevention.
They added: “Lasting improvement will require a whole-system approach that invests not only in the NHS, but also in adult social care, community mental health services, prevention and tackling the wider determinants of health, such as housing and poverty.
“We need to shift from responding to crisis to preventing it, with strong communities, supported voluntary organisations and joined-up public services working together to keep people well and independent.”
Their comments come as Croydon University Hospital’s A&E department faces continued scrutiny after it was again rated ‘Requires Improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in June.
Following an unannounced inspection in March, inspectors found patients had waited between 34 and more than 127 hours in A&E, with the longest waits exceeding five days.
Inspectors found adults in mental health crisis faced the longest waits, with some left in unsuitable environments that risked worsening their condition.
They also criticised the routine use of ‘corridor care’, saying doctors were forced to discuss patients’ diagnoses and treatment in areas that did not protect privacy.
Elsewhere, inspectors raised concerns that mandatory safeguarding training in the department fell short of the trust’s 90 per cent target.
However, the CQC also found that 89 per cent of patients said they were treated with respect and dignity, while 95 per cent said they felt listened to by doctors and nurses.
