Corridor care must be eradicated, not normalised

One of the most alarming symptoms of the pressures facing our health and care systems is the increasing prevalence of ‘corridor care’ across Scotland’s hospitals. When we talk about corridor care, we mean care that is being provided in inappropriate places. As well as corridors, too often care is delivered in unsuitable spaces such as endoscopy units and treatment rooms and additional beds are added to wards.

This level of overcrowding is unsafe and unacceptable for both patients and staff. Patients left on trolleys or chairs for hours on end, often in pain and suffering – it’s harrowing and undignified, yet it is becoming normalised and accepted.

In response to an RCN survey earlier this year, almost 40% of respondents working in hospitals in Scotland reported delivering care in an inappropriate setting. Of these, over 70% said it compromised patient privacy and dignity and almost 60% said it left patients without access to life-saving equipment such as oxygen and suction.

Nursing staff shouldn’t be put in that impossible position. It creates a huge moral burden and the turmoil of providing substandard care is forcing many nurses to consider leaving their jobs.

The RCN has been raising this issue directly with Scottish government. Instead of procuring more comfortable chairs, or buying ring doorbells to be used as buzzers, NHS Scotland and Scottish government must focus on eradicating corridor care. Patients should not need to be provided with a leaflet explaining why they are having to wait for a bed, or consent to being cared for in a chair or inappropriate space. Training staff to ensure they are familiar with policies that promote care in inappropriate places is not a sufficient response.

These sticking plasters normalise care that is unsafe and undignified. They do nothing to address the sector-wide capacity problems that are causing this unacceptable practice.

First published in Holyrood Magazine