Overview
- The Royal College of Nursing gathered testimony from 436 nurses this month, detailing patients left in chairs for four days and one death from undetected choking in a corridor.
- Nurses reported delivering care in freezing corridors, dining rooms, staff kitchens and other unsuitable spaces with no monitors or oxygen.
- RCN leaders warned corridor care has become a permanent fixture that compromises safety and dignity and is pushing staff morale toward breaking point.
- The Department of Health and Social Care called the situation unacceptable and pointed to £450m for urgent and emergency care, 40 same‑day emergency care centres and 15 mental health crisis centres, plus efforts to reduce discharge delays.
- A YouGov poll found 36% of recent NHS users witnessed care in non‑clinical areas and 69% want the timeline to end corridor care brought forward, as Wales reported similar problems and over £200m was allocated to speed discharges.