The RCN has written to health secretary Wes Streeting and Chief Executive of NHS England Amanda Pritchard, urging the UK government to commit to transparency on the true extent of the issue by publishing data on all incidences of care delivered in inappropriate places. We’re asking for this to happen by the next NHS Board meeting in early February.
In our letter, we’ve outlined the dire impact of corridor care on patients and staff, and demonstrated the issue of corridor care is a priority for multiple organisations.
The letter said: “For staff, this means being forced to deliver compromised care, unable to access oxygen, suction or even plug sockets. This causes moral distress and ultimately, moral injury.”
The joint letter has been signed by 15 key health care and patient organisations, such as the Patients Association, the British Medical Association, Age UK, Marie Curie, John's Campaign, the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. This is the first time a broad coalition has urged the government to take action on corridor care.
Corridor care is the symptom of a broken system, and we want to highlight to the public and the UK government the true scale and depth of the crisis.
We’re calling on the government to change this and bring in mandatory reporting. This must be implemented by the UK government to NHS England, in partnership with local NHS trusts – currently trusts don’t have to report on corridor care.
"Patients and staff deserve honest and open accountability about the extent of care delivered in inappropriate spaces,” the letter said. “These measures will provide crucial transparency of care standards, accountability for patient safety and invaluable data to support the eradication of this unacceptable practice.”
Corridor care has become widespread and normalised, but it shouldn’t be – no patient should ever be treated in a corridor or other inappropriate space.
The letter also said: “Health and social care professionals and patients, their relatives and carers, are rightly worried about what the coming weeks and months may bring... we are clear that treating patients in corridors, on chairs and other inappropriate spaces is in no way acceptable and must end.”
After pressure from the RCN and the coalition of partners, NHS England has indicated they will begin to report a count of the number of patients who receive care within temporary escalation spaces later this month.
We’re asking RCN members to help end corridor care by raising concerns around the harm it’s causing. We need to highlight how widespread it is and provide evidence of its impact on patients and nursing staff.
Whenever you see concerning practices in the workplace, including corridor care, please raise a concern in line with your employer's policy. Raising a concern is not always easy, but it’s the right thing to do. Read our guide on how to do this, created to help nursing staff based in both NHS and independent health and care settings.
