NHS corridor care is unacceptable, says nursing union

Caring for patients in hospital corridors has become “normal”, despite being unsafe and unacceptable for patients, says a report from the Royal College of Nursing.

At its annual conference starting on Monday, RCN boss Prof Nicola Ranger will say corridor care is “a national emergency for patient safety”.

The Conservatives said the NHS budget had increased by a third since 2010 and more community diagnostic centres had opened to ease the pressure on A&E.

Labour said nurses were sounding the alarm because of 14 years of Conservative neglect, while the Lib Dems said they have an ambitious plan to fix the health crisis.

In the RCN’s report, the nursing union is calling for corridor care to be reported whenever it happens so that the problem can be eradicated everywhere in the UK.

Its annual online survey of 11,000 nursing staff – out of a total of more than 700,000 in the UK – found one in three had witnessed patients being cared for in inappropriate places during their most recent shift. This figure has risen over the past two years.

Nurses who responded said they had been involved in caring for patients on chairs, rather than beds or trolleys, in waiting rooms, corridors and other locations not designed for patients.

The survey is part of a campaign by the union to improve the working conditions of nurses.

When nurses were asked about the impact on patients, two-thirds said their privacy and dignity were compromised while more than half said it meant a lack of access to toilet facilities and drinking water, as well as vital equipment, such as oxygen.