Shock report finds one in five emergency care patients treated in corridors
- National Pensioners Convention
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Corridor care is a defining feature of the crisis in the NHS according to a new report All-Party Parliamentary Group on Emergency Care and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
Increasing numbers of patients are treated in corridors, waiting rooms and other inappropriate spaces, not because of clinical need but because there is nowhere else for them to go. What was once an occasional response to winter surges is now a daily reality.
In a survey of Emergency Department Clinical Leads in summer 2025, almost one in five patients were being cared for in corridors.
In their report, the APPG on Emergency Care and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, draws on this new survey data, Freedom of Information requests, public polling, and patient testimony. Together these sources paint a stark picture. Emergency Department (ED) attendances reached record levels in 2024, yet this is not the sole cause of overcrowding.
The consequences are grave. In 2024, 1.7 million patients experienced 12-hour waits, more than twelve times the number a decade ago. Evidence shows that such delays cost lives: an estimated 16,644 excess deaths occurred in 2024 as a result of long stays before admission, equivalent to 320 lives lost each week.
Corridor care also undermines the workforce and wastes resources. Staff report moral injury and burnout from working in ways that contradict their professional values. Emergency Medicine already has the highest proportion of resident doctors at high risk of burnout, at 30% compared to 20% overall.
The report’s author make several urgent recommendations:
1. Restore patient flow by reducing delayed discharges
2. Focus equally on four-hour and 12-hour performance
3. Reform funding and incentives
4. Spread responsibility for patient flow across the hospital
5. Address inequalities in access and outcomes
6. Strengthen accountability and transparency
7. Increase transparent ways of measuring hospital performance
Read the full report here:
