A Bill to place a duty on the Secretary of State to ensure that patients spend no longer than 12 hours between arriving at the accident and emergency department of a hospital and being admitted to hospital, transferred for care elsewhere or discharged; to require the Secretary of State to publish proposals for measures to eliminate the provision of accident and emergency care services in corridors and other spaces not intended for the provision of such services; and for connected purposes.
House of Commons
Helen MorganLiberal Democrat
5 May 2026
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This bill would require the Secretary of State to ensure that patients spend no longer than 12 hours in an accident and emergency (A&E) department from arrival to admission, transfer for further care, or discharge. It also requires the Secretary of State to publish proposals to end A&E care being provided in corridors or other spaces not designed for care. The measure is framed as a broader set of connected health objectives aimed at improving emergency care.
The bill completed its first reading in the Commons on 14 January 2026 and is now at the second reading. It remains at an early stage and would need to pass further stages in Parliament to become law.
Generated 21 February 2026
14 Jan 2026
The 2024-2026 session of Parliament has come to an end so the House of Commons is now prorogued until the next session begins on 13 May 2026. Prorogation is the formal end to the parliamentary year.
This Bill will therefore make no further progress.
No recorded votes for this bill yet.
