NHS Faces Crisis as Corridor Care Becomes Widespread

Overcrowded hospitals report record 12-hour trolley waits, prompting urgent calls for reform and increased capacity.

Hospitals across England are struggling with record patient numbers due to winter flu, respiratory illnesses, and delayed discharges.
More than 500,000 patients waited over 12 hours in emergency departments for a bed in 2024, a 25% increase from the previous year.
Whittington Hospital in London advertised shifts for 'corridor care' nurses to handle patients treated in hallways due to overcrowding.
Medical professionals warn that corridor care is unsafe, degrading, and linked to preventable deaths, with 14,000 excess deaths estimated in 2023 due to long A&E waits.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine and other organizations are urging the government to publish data on corridor care and implement emergency measures to expand hospital capacity and staffing.