“Corridor Care” is a term being used more frequently in the media recently, partly due to jobs appearing in the NHS like this one reported on Sky News. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) surveyed their members, showing that over 60% of nursing staff are currently trying to care for people in corridors, with over 90% of those surveyed saying their believe patient safety is being compromised. Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire and Lib Dem spokesperson on Health & Care declared the issue as “scandal” and called on the government to urgently increase the number of beds available.
Three members of the LDHCA Executive, with varying backgrounds, share their views below.
Andy McGowan, who works as a Policy and Practice Manager for Carers Trust UK said:
“If we are to tackle the absolute crisis that is patients being forced to be treated in corridors, car parks and other inappropriate settings, then there is an urgent need for better supporting social care now.
“This report already highlights how the lack of social care packages is preventing patients who could be discharged from leaving hospital. Research by Care England found that 43 percent of care providers have been forced to hand back contracts or close part of their service in the last 12 months. And the upcoming increase in Employer National Insurance contributions coupled with the (welcome) rise in the National Living Wage is going to put even more pressure on already stretched social care providers.
“And when patients are discharged without sufficient social care packages in place to free up beds, it is often unpaid carers who are forced to pick up the pieces with less and less support. There has been a 13% reduction in direct support provided to carers in the past 5 years. If we do not improve support for carers then we risk patients and even their carer in hospital, in beds which the NHS simply does not have.
“This situation is an unsustainable ticking time-bomb and reviews/inquiries will not be enough – we need more action now.”
Ellen Nicholson, RN, QN, a Registered Nurse and Queen’s Nurse, who is also a Councillor in Woking had this to say:
Patients being nursed in hospital corridors has featured heavily in the media recently, this Winter, like last, corridor care is increasingly being used in the NHS as demand for emergency care grows and emergency departments across the Country struggle with rising patient numbers.
In the media, patients, their families and nurses, in particular, have, shared their experience of being treated in and of working in this environment. Both recognise, being cared for in a hospital corridor isn’t ideal, the lack of resources, resources, for example, the low number of hospital beds in the UK per 1000 population as OECD average, or staffing shortages or financial pressures on hospital trusts mean a culture of making do, is becoming normalised. Jobs for ‘corridor nurses’ have been spotted recently in the press.
Corridor settings lack essential infrastructure and pose many safety risks for patients. Hospital corridors don’t little privacy, no call bell on hand if someone is needing help from nursing staff, access to toilets may be limited, oxygen may be via a canister rather than through a fixed outlet. There is nowhere for friends and family to sit and wait with the patient, instead patients may feel incredibly vulnerable, by the noise, constant movement of people and beds moving through the hospital corridor. Clinically, hospital trolleys have firm mattresses, for elderly or frail patients, hours on a trolley may lead to a pressure sore forming, yet NICE guidance was created to minimise their formation. Lack of access to a table to hold a cup of water, may lead to dehydration.
Corridor care normalises this and more, the lack of resource mean patients may go unheard for long periods, that nursing staff, recognising the lack of resources, may feel frustration and moral injury at delivering care in these circumstances. The pressure on the whole system is immense, ambulance crews wait to deliver patients to the emergency departments, unable to answer other emergency calls. Hospital management, teams, Medics, nurses and leaders will have frequent bed reviews each day, to try and create space in hospital beds, in turn placing pressure on the multitude of other staff, hospitality staff, porters for bed transfers, ward nurses and allied health professional colleagues, pharmacy staff for medications to take home, diagnostics for results, medics, for discharge letters, all whilst managing their normal workload on a shift. In normal circumstances, the workforce steps up, but sometimes a patient condition on a ward or in emergency departments deteriorates and all normal work is suspended whilst the emergency is managed. Healthcare is about risk and management and governance of the risk, but the unexpected happens, often, and whilst we plan, we can’t predict.
Above all it raises the issue of patient safety and risk management, can we be sure that over stretched staff and busy corridors will identify when a patient deteriorates, whilst waiting in a corridor. A workforce, who recognise that care is being delivered in a less-than-ideal setting, may after repeated patterns of corridor care, decide to work elsewhere or even decide to leave, the profession, as the reality doesn’t match the ideal.
As a nation, Governments of all colours, talk often about out-of-hospital care, with resources targeted to prevention, so fewer people will need emergency care workforce and free up ambulances from waiting outside ED to doing their job, but funding for district nurses, general practice, health visitors, community health hubs, social care and public health hasn’t matched the talk.
The end result, is a health system in distress, with patient care and safety compromised.
Matt Jackson, speaking here from a patient perspective:
“The Royal College of Nursing’s report on the corridor care crisis highlights a dire situation that the Government can no longer ignore. Patients being treated in corridors, storerooms, and even car parks is unacceptable. These conditions strip away dignity, compromise safety, and hinder recovery. It is disgraceful that NHS staff are forced to deliver care in such conditions due to chronic underfunding and mismanagement.
The detrimental impact on recovery cannot be overstated. Without access to proper monitoring equipment, oxygen, or even basic privacy, patients are left vulnerable to worsening health outcomes. The stress and distress of being treated in an unsuitable environment—often in pain, afraid, and exposed—only prolongs suffering. Staff are doing their utmost, but they are stretched beyond capacity, forced to manage impossible workloads while patients are left waiting in discomfort and fear.
This is not a staffing issue—it is a systemic failure driven by years of underinvestment and a focus on targets rather than patient care. The Government must take urgent action to ensure hospitals have the space, staff, and funding necessary to provide dignified and effective care.
Patients deserve better. NHS staff deserve better. Without immediate Government intervention, this crisis will only deepen, putting more lives at risk.”