Patients are collapsing in hospitals unseen by staff because overcrowding means they are stranded out of sight on corridors, the NHS’s safety watchdog has revealed. The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) said using corridors, storerooms and gyms as extra care areas poses serious risks, including falls, infections and a lack of oxygen.
NHS staff told investigators that some patients who end up on a trolley or bed in overflow areas have not been assessed or started treatment, increasing the risk of deterioration going unnoticed. The report highlighted that patients in these areas may not get prompt attention if they suffer a medical emergency, with nurses reporting concerns about responding to emergencies in temporary care environments where patients may be out of sight.
The Royal College of Nursing described the report as a “damning indictment” of what HSSIB says is increasingly routine use of corridor care. Some hospitals have installed emergency call bells in overflow areas, but others avoid such steps to prevent care in these areas from becoming “normalised”. HSSIB also found that while some hospitals aim for patients to spend an hour or less in temporary care, this can extend to several days due to bed shortages.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine estimates that more than 16,600 people died in England last year as a direct result of delays in finding them a bed after arriving at A&E. NHS England says corridor care is “unacceptable and should never be considered standard”, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to end the practice by 2029, though NHS staff groups are sceptical.
