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RCN call for urgent action on corridor care recognised at top level
NHS England has sent a letter to all health and care providers saying corridor care should never be considered the ‘norm’.
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The RCN’s work to raise the issue of corridor care as a national emergency has been recognised and acted upon by NHS England. Following the release of our report on the extent and impact of corridor care at RCN Congress earlier this month, and the disturbing Dispatches documentary about the issue which aired on Channel 4 this week, NHS England has written to the leaders of all integrated care boards, NHS trusts and local authorities.
The letter asks all boards across the NHS to make every effort to provide alternatives to emergency department attendance and admission, especially for older people who are better served with care provided in the community. The letter also emphasises the importance of ensuring patient flow through hospitals, including timely discharge, so patients are not left in inappropriate care settings.
In her speech at RCN Congress, Acting General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger urged members not to accept patient care being compromised and to call out instances of corridor care as being unsafe, undignified and unacceptable.
Responding to the Dispatches documentary, she said: “Nursing staff have called for chair care lasting longer than 24 hours to become an NHS ‘never event’, in the same way as having the wrong limb operated on. Mandatory national reporting must also be introduced to urgently reveal the extent of patients being cared for in inappropriate places.
“Long delays in A&E are symptoms of a system in crisis. The next government will be elected in a matter of days and serious and significant investment across health and care needs to be an urgent priority.”
In our general election manifesto, we’re calling for corridor care to be eradicated including mandatory public reporting of each incidence. We’ve been consistently raising this issue with party leaders ahead of the election and would expect whoever forms the next government to commit to ending corridor care as a priority in their first 100 days.
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