NHS Confederation responds to report on the scale of corridor care in hospitals

Responding to the Royal College of Nursing’s new report on corridor care in hospitals, Rory Deighton, acute director at the NHS Confederation, said: 

“This report is yet more evidence of the immense pressure on the NHS this winter. Despite the hard work of health leaders and their teams, they are having to make very difficult decisions over the best way to manage rising demand and keep patients safe. This includes treating patients in corridors and other parts of the hospital that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

“Corridor care is a last resort but NHS staff have been left with little choice and are doing all they can to mitigate the risks to patients. But they know this is frustrating for patients and their families, with NHS staff also being subject to the morale injury of being unable to provide the care they would like to. But in the current environment, NHS leaders and staff have been left with no alternative.

“This winter was always going to be incredibly hard given the NHS entered it following more than a decade of underinvestment – as highlighted in Lord Darzi’s report. But we must make sure that the NHS does not face another winter like the last few, which have been some of the worst in its history. 

“While our members share the government’s ambitions to reduce waiting lists for routine procedures, we know we can’t sacrifice improvement in emergency care to fund elective care. They require an equal focus, and we look forward to working with the government on improving urgent and emergency care performance.”