Testimony from nurses regarding the overwhelming pressure on A&E departments across the UK has rightly shocked the public and the health secretary, Wes Streeting. The alarming yet unavoidable conclusion of a new report from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is that “corridor care”, as treatment given in hallways or other unsuitable areas is known, has been normalised to a disturbing degree.
The accounts of 5,408 nurses came in response to a survey launched before Christmas to counter the lack of official data and national oversight of rising A&E pressures. It reveals the increased medical risks that follow from patients being treated away from wards, for example due to the lack of access in these spaces to supplies, including oxygen. Nurses also explained the psychological distress caused. Lack of bodily privacy, dignity and having to receive life-changing information in unsuitable conditions were among patient experiences described. Nurses reported trying to look after people in cupboards and even toilets as well as hallways. More than two-thirds said they delivered care in an unsuitable setting on a daily basis.
