A stark warning has been issued by the NHS's safety watchdog after its investigation found hospital patients are collapsing unseen in corridors and temporary overflow areas, with staff struggling to provide a timely emergency response.
"Out of Sight" Patients Face Critical Delays
The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) has highlighted that the increasingly routine use of corridors, storerooms, and even gyms as makeshift care spaces poses severe risks to patient safety. Its report states that individuals placed in these "temporary care environments" are at heightened risk of not receiving prompt attention if their condition suddenly worsens.
Nurses told investigators that patients on trolleys in overflow areas are often at the end of a corridor and out of the direct line of sight from the main emergency department hub. This isolation raises alarming concerns about the ability to spot a rapid deterioration or to call for and deliver help during a medical crisis.
"A few incidents where patients had collapsed in a temporary care environment were reported to the investigation," the HSSIB confirmed. While the location did not alter the final outcome in these specific cases, serious questions were raised about the impact on the speed of the emergency response.
A Damning Indictment of Routine Practice
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which last year warned that patients were dying in corridors, described the HSSIB findings as "a damning indictment" of a practice that has become normalised in many hospitals. The report notes that while some trusts aim to limit stays in such areas to an hour or less, a chronic shortage of beds means some patients end up stranded there for several days.
The scale of the problem is underscored by estimates from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. They calculate that more than 16,600 people in England died last year directly due to delays in being allocated a proper hospital bed after arriving at A&E.
In response to the dangers, some hospitals have taken mitigating steps, such as installing emergency call bells, power sockets for medical equipment, and mini nursing stations in overflow zones to create a calmer, more organised setting. However, HSSIB found other hospitals are reluctant to make such permanent-feeling improvements, fearing it would further entrench the "normalisation" of substandard corridor care.
Government Pledge Meets with Scepticism
NHS England has stated that care in corridors is "unacceptable and should never be considered standard." The new Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, has made a pledge to end the practice by 2029. This commitment has been met with scepticism from frontline NHS staff groups, who doubt the timeline is achievable given current pressures.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "No one should receive care in a corridor. The situation we inherited is unacceptable and undignified, and we are determined to end it." They pointed to NHS England's work with trusts to improve data, reduce discharge delays, and tackle inconsistencies in care.
The spokesperson added that the report "highlights the dedication and professionalism" of staff working under immense pressure to keep patients safe in extremely challenging circumstances.
