Almost a fifth of people who’ve dealt with NHS in last 6 months have witnessed or received ‘corridor care’, survey reveals

Almost a fifth of people in England who have dealt with the NHS in the last six months have received or witnessed ‘corridor care’, according to a new survey.

The practice, which refers to patients being seen in non-medical settings such as waiting rooms, car parks and corridors, has become a ‘feature’ of the NHS in recent times.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), who commissioned the poll, is calling for urgent action to tackle the crisis, including bringing in mandatory reporting and more investment for nursing staff.

The survey of 2,267 adults also found that half of people think the issue could be eradicated within one year if the Government does take action.

And it comes less than a month after a damning report revealed that patients are being ‘stripped of their dignity’ and left to die unnoticed on trolleys and chairs as there are too few beds and staff.

Professor Nicola Ranger, chief executive and general secretary of the RCN, said: ‘The public and nursing staff can see a tragedy for patients unfolding before their eyes.

‘They know care standards are unacceptable and they want Government to act decisively.

‘The first step it can take to protect patients from corridor care is to introduce mandatory reporting of any time it takes place.

‘But to properly solve this crisis, the Government has to bring forward new and urgent investment into the nursing workforce, especially in the community and social care. That is the key to keeping patients healthy at home and easing pressures on hospitals.’

Last month, a 460-page report by the RCN on the state of the NHS included accounts of sick people being left to soil themselves and patients left to sit in chairs for days due to a lack of beds.

The document, which collated the experiences of 5,000 nursing staff from across the UK, included claims that patients are dying in corridors and sometimes going undiscovered for hours.

Reacting to the findings of the new survey one nurse in the East of England said: ‘My hospital seems to be in a permanent crisis with not enough beds, resorting to using escalation areas all year round now.

‘Beds in corridors, window bays, office spaces, busy walkways. No washing or toilet facilities, no nurse call buttons, no night lights. No dignified privacy of a curtain whilst they are feeling unwell.

‘Caring for vulnerable, sick people in inappropriate places has become all too normalised and nurses in my department are leaving as they feel they can’t give the level of care they want to.’

Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said the findings ‘make it clear that patients and the public will not accept any further delays in tackling the corridor care crisis’.

‘No one should be treated in a space without basic dignity, privacy, or access to essential medical equipment, yet this is the daily reality for many,’ she added.

‘Behind each statistic is a person in distress, a family fearing for their loved one’s safety, and NHS staff struggling to deliver the quality of care they are trained to provide.

‘We need urgent investment in community, primary care and hospital capacity, robust staffing plans, and full transparency through mandatory reporting. The longer we wait, the more lives will be put at risk. Patients deserve better, and they are right to demand real action.’

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: ‘It is shocking that corridor care has become a feature of the broken NHS this government inherited, but we are determined to change this.

‘We are investing £26 billion in the NHS and social care over the next two years, vaccinating more people against flu than this time last year, and ended the resident doctor strikes so staff are on the frontline during winter.’