Overview
- The Royal College of Nursing collected fresh testimony from 436 nurses detailing severe incidents, including a patient left in a chair for four days and another who died after choking unnoticed in a corridor.
- Nurses reported routinely treating patients in freezing corridors and other non-clinical spaces such as dining rooms and staff kitchens, describing moral distress, nightmares, and intense pre-shift anxiety.
- A YouGov survey found 36% of recent NHS users witnessed care delivered in corridors or other unsuitable areas, and most respondents said the government's promised timeline to end the practice is too slow.
- The Department of Health and Social Care called corridor care unacceptable and cited £450 million for urgent and emergency care, plans for 40 same-day emergency care centres and 15 mental health crisis centres, expanded vaccination, and efforts to reduce discharge delays.
- Health leaders, including the NHS Confederation, said corridor care reflects wider shortages in beds, capital and social care capacity, while RCN Wales and ministers in Cardiff reported ongoing corridor use and targeted funding to improve patient flow.