Nearly 3,000 patients a day face corridor care in NHS

Nearly 3,000 Patients a Day Face Corridor Care in NHS

Nearly 3 000 patients a day face - Recent statistics reveal that over 3,000 patients daily in England were treated in hospital corridors or temporary spaces instead of beds on wards, according to new NHS data. This marks the first time such figures have been released, highlighting the ongoing challenges the healthcare system faces in addressing what officials describe as "unsafe" and "unacceptable" practices.

Defining Corridor Care

Corridor care is defined as when patients receive treatment for over 45 minutes in makeshift areas like corridors, side rooms, or even car parks, or when they are left without a bed on or near hospital wards. The data shows that in May, the average number of patients experiencing this situation was 2,241 in emergency departments, with an additional 669 in other hospital areas.

Patients’ Experiences

Stories from patients and families illustrate the strain of corridor care. Suzanne, from the East Midlands, shared how her mother, in her 80s, spent more than 24 hours waiting in a corridor during five visits this year. "Mum was one trolley in a sea of trolleys," Suzanne recalled, describing the confusion and distress her mother faced. "If we hadn’t been there, I dread to think what might have happened."

"Mum was one trolley in a sea of trolleys… If we hadn’t been there, I dread to think what might have happened."

Kathy’s experience was similarly dire. After being sent by her GP with a suspected eye infection, she waited 36 hours in a chair alone before learning her blurred vision was due to a brain tumour. "It was horrendous… I got home and threw up. I was exhausted and broken," she said.

"It was horrendous… I got home and threw up. I was exhausted and broken."

Staff Accounts

Nurses, who wished to remain anonymous, described the grueling conditions. One recounted a shift where the corridor was crowded with patients, and a body had to be wheeled past them to reach the mortuary. Later, another patient suffered a cardiac arrest in the same space. "Those frail patients watched chest compressions. There’s no dignity in that," the nurse said.

"Those frail patients watched chest compressions. There’s no dignity in that."

Another nurse likened the emergency department to "a war zone," mentioning a case where a patient died unnoticed in the corridor. "He’d started to stiffen because he had been there for so long, dead, with no-one noticing. It’s horrific to think someone’s loved one died with no one near them," they added.

Government Response

Ministers have committed to eliminating corridor care by 2029. Health Secretary James Murray stated, "Corridor care is unacceptable, undignified, and has no place in our NHS. That is why, for the first time, we are publishing this data to shine a spotlight on where the problems are greatest and ensure trusts get the support they need."

"Corridor care is unacceptable, undignified, and has no place in our NHS… we are publishing this data to shine a spotlight on where the problems are greatest."

NHS England noted that May, typically not a peak period for hospital congestion, was unusually busy due to a heatwave. Despite this, the data underscores a systemic issue, with 20 trusts accounting for more than half of the A&E cases and over two-thirds of other hospital incidents.

Expert Perspectives

Siva Anandaciva of The King’s Fund called the figures "alarming," emphasizing that unsafe practices are widespread. "Behind these numbers aren’t just patients and families suffering, but nursing staff demoralized by delivering poor care day after day," said Royal College of Nursing general secretary Prof Nicola Ranger. She added that the data confirms the normalization of long waits in the NHS, which have persisted for decades without significant improvement.

Additional reporting by Kris Bramwell.