Emergency Departments Across UK Struggle as Corridor Care Becomes Normalised
Dr Ian Higginson, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), has warned that emergency departments across the UK are facing severe challenges due to the normalisation of corridor care. The RCEM estimates that more than 16,600 deaths were linked to very long A&E waits in the past year, averaging about 320 deaths weekly. A separate analysis revealed that nearly one in five patients in UK emergency departments in March were treated in escalation areas such as corridors.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to end corridor care in England by the next general election or sooner. Higginson emphasized that solutions should focus on improving hospital efficiency, increasing staffing and bed capacity, and strengthening community-based and social care to better support patient discharge.
NHS data showed that in November, 50,648 people in England waited more than 12 hours from the decision to admit to actual admission. NHS England has initiated winter productivity efforts aimed at reducing corridor care and increasing bed availability, including discharging patients when medically fit and expanding care closer to patients' homes.
The Department of Health and Social Care has stated that no patient should receive care in corridors, describing the situation as unacceptable, but noted signs of NHS recovery such as more patients being seen within four hours and faster ambulance response times for stroke and chest pain cases.
