Government Launches Major Initiative to End Corridor Care in NHS Hospitals
In a significant move to tackle one of the NHS's most pressing issues, the Government has announced it will deploy teams of experts to NHS trusts with the highest rates of corridor care. Health Secretary Wes Streeting declared the practice "unacceptable and undignified" as he unveiled the plan during a visit to Queen's Hospital in Romford, east London.
Targeting the Worst Offenders
The initiative will focus on trusts with the poorest performance records, providing them with specialised support to better understand data and improve patient flow. Ministers have set an ambitious target to completely eradicate corridor care by the end of the current Parliament. This forms part of a broader strategy to transform emergency care across England.
Corridor care, officially defined by NHS England in March, occurs when patients spend 45 minutes or more in clinically inappropriate areas such as hallways or waiting rooms within emergency departments or wards. Trusts have begun collecting data on this practice, with the first comprehensive figures scheduled for publication in May.
Specialist Support and New Facilities
The Getting it Right First Time (Girft) team will work directly with leadership at the worst-performing trusts, offering hands-on assistance to manage patient surges more effectively. Simultaneously, the Department of Health and Social Care has revealed locations for 40 new and expanded same-day emergency care and urgent care centres.
These facilities, backed by £215.5 million in funding, aim to treat patients more rapidly and alleviate pressure on overwhelmed A&E departments. Ten new sites will be established across the Midlands, with additional locations in Salisbury, London's Royal Free Hospital, Southampton General Hospital, and Royal Hampshire County Hospital. Expansions are planned for centres in Stockport, Nottingham, Margate, and Dorchester.
Health Secretary's Strong Stance
Wes Streeting emphasised the urgency of the situation, stating: "For too long, the normalisation of corridor care has been baked into our NHS – it's unacceptable, undignified and exactly why this Government is shifting the dial for patients and staff." He added that specialist teams would "identify the causes in some of the worst offending trusts and swiftly rectify the problems they find."
During his hospital visit, Streeting highlighted positive examples of improvement. Queen's Hospital in Romford reported 10,000 fewer hours of corridor care in February compared to the same month last year, following the introduction of a new assessment process that reduced waiting times by 37 minutes.
Success Stories Across England
The announcement comes alongside several notable success stories from NHS trusts that have already implemented effective measures:
- In Blackpool, 12-hour waits have decreased by 43% through senior staff presence in A&E and predictive data analysis
- Hull has seen ambulance handover delays fall by 27% and 12-hour waits drop by 47%
- The Royal Blackburn in East Lancashire has reduced corridor care by empowering medical leadership to prioritise patient discharges
Professional Endorsement and Caution
Professor Tim Briggs, NHS England's national director for clinical improvement and chair of the Girft programme, welcomed the initiative: "Our focus over the next six months is to take what we've learned and cascade it across the whole NHS, so we can improve care for patients and eliminate this issue once and for all."
Dr Ragit Varia, president-elect of the Society for Acute Medicine, expressed support while cautioning against mere redefinition of the problem: "SAM has been increasingly concerned that a definition which is open to interpretation risks encouraging 'gamification' rather than genuine improvement, which is why more active intervention is necessary."
Professor Nicola Ranger of the Royal College of Nursing acknowledged the positive step but stressed the need for broader action: "We know from our members that the problem is ongoing and widespread. That's why we need a plan to ease pressures everywhere, not just in those struggling the most."
Additional Emergency Care Expansion
Complementing the corridor care initiative, five new same-day emergency care services will open in Liverpool, Barnsley, Southampton, Margate, and Guildford, alongside 21 expanded sites across England. This represents the most substantial expansion of urgent care capacity in recent years.
Helga Pile, head of health at union Unison, welcomed the measures but called for more comprehensive solutions: "Efforts to improve the process are vital and long overdue. The extra help will be welcome at the hospitals struggling most, but a systemic and longer-term response is needed." She emphasised the importance of addressing staffing shortages and social care bottlenecks through a national care service.
Chris McCann, acting chief executive of Healthwatch England, summarised the consensus among health professionals: "Even one case of corridor care is one too many." The Government's dual approach of targeted intervention and infrastructure expansion represents its most concerted effort yet to eliminate what has become an emblematic challenge for the NHS.
