
Care provided in hospital corridors
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) have said there is evidence provided by more than 5,000 of its members across the UK showing the dangers of ‘corridor care’ (where care is provided to patients in corridors, non-clinical areas or unsuitable clinical areas because of a lack of hospital bed capacity).
Nurses warned ‘corridor care’ put patients at risk as staff were unable to access vital equipment such as oxygen, heart monitors and suction equipment, and did not have the time and space to provide CPR.
Chris McCann, deputy chief executive at Healthwatch England said:
“We need to know how many patients are affected, why and for how long and the extent to which people are harmed as a result. This would help inform the new emergency care plan being developed by the government. The plan must also look at other NHS pressures that impact on hospital care, such as a lack of timely GP appointments, and hospital discharge delays due to problems arranging ongoing social care for people, which stop beds being freed up for new inpatients.”
If you, a relative or friend have experienced care provided in this way at a local hospital, we want to hear from you.