Rise in hospital ‘corridor care’ is national emergency, union warns

‘Corridor care’ appears to have grown as more hospitals in England have adopted a ‘continuous flow model’ to free up ambulances. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

Overcrowding is forcing hospitals to treat so many patients in corridors and storerooms that it constitutes a “national emergency”, the UK’s nursing union has said.

The growing and widespread practice is endangering patients’ safety by leaving them without oxygen or easily able to attract staff’s attention, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warned.