NHS corridor care is causing deaths and distress, nurses say

The Royal College of Nursing published a dossier reporting patients being cared for in corridors and other temporary areas, including cases where patients died, and the health secretary has pledged to end corridor care in England by 2029.

Hospitals across the UK are using corridors and other non-clinical spaces to care for patients, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) says in a new dossier. The report compiles testimony from hundreds of nurses and describes situations where patients were placed in temporary areas and where some deaths occurred. The practice is presented as affecting multiple hospital areas beyond emergency departments. The health secretary has announced a pledge to end corridor care in England by 2029 and the government has set out investments and new centres as part of its response. Key points: - The RCN dossier is based on testimony from 436 nurses gathered in early January and reports widespread use of corridor and overflow care. - The dossier includes cases where patients died while in corridor or temporary care areas and describes severe stress among staff. - Health secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to end the use of corridor care in England by 2029 and the Department of Health and Social Care cited investments including £450m and new urgent care centres. - The NHS safety watchdog warned that temporary care environments pose risks to patients, including problems with monitoring and infection control. Summary: The RCN report describes corridor care as widespread and harmful to both patient safety and staff wellbeing across several hospital wards. The government has announced funding and a target to end the practice by 2029, while some NHS staff groups remain sceptical about whether that timeline is achievable.