Corridor care and patient safety

Summary

Corridor care is increasingly being used in the NHS as demand for emergency care grows and hospital departments struggle with patient numbers. In a series of blogs for the hub, we shine a light on some of the key patient safety issues surrounding corridor care.

Content

Corridor care can broadly be defined as care being provided to patients in corridors, non-clinical areas or unsuitable clinical areas because of a lack of hospital bed capacity.

Documenting the experiences of more than 5,000 nursing staff, a recent report from the Royal College of Nursing has set out in stark terms how corridor care has become normalised in the NHS. Almost 7 in 10 (66.8%) of those surveyed said they were delivering care in over-crowded or unsuitable places. More than 9 in 10 (90.8%) of those surveyed said patient safety is being compromised.

Corridor care has become increasingly normalised, with NHS England having issued guidance to support point-of-care staff in delivering as safe and high quality care as possible when corridor care has been deemed unavoidable.

Key patient safety concerns

At Patient Safety Learning we will continue to raise awareness of the significant patient safety concerns relating to corridor care, including:

• Delayed treatment.
• Inadequate monitoring.
• Compromised infection control.
• Patient dignity not being supported.
• Relatives not being able to support patients who may not otherwise be closely monitored.
• Moral injury and impact on staff delivering poor standards of care.
• Manual handling safely.
• Trip hazards and obstructions.
• Blocked evacuation routes in the case of fires of other major incidents.

Corridor care blogs

In a series of blogs for the hub, we shine a light on some of the safety concerns surrounding corridor care.

Corridor care guidance needs to move beyond what “should” happen and grapple honestly with why it isn’t (a blog by Claire Cox)

In this blog, Patient Safety Learning’s Associate Director and nurse, Claire Cox reflects on NHS England's guidance Principles for providing patient care in corridors and sets out the need for national action to tackle this persistent problem.

Corridor care: Patient Safety Learning's response to the latest HSSIB report

On the 8th January 2026, the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) published a new report looking at patient safety risks associated with the use of temporary care environments, more commonly referred to as corridor care. In this article, Patient Safety Learning sets out its reflections on the report’s findings.

The crisis of corridor care in the NHS: patient safety concerns and incident reporting

In this blog, Patient Safety Learning’s Director Clare Wade reflects on the challenges that growing prevalence of corridor care poses to reporting and acting on patient safety concerns in the NHS.

How corridor care in the NHS is affecting safety culture: A blog by Claire Cox

Patient Safety Learning’s Associate Director Claire Cox looked at how corridor care within the NHS is affecting safety culture and examined its implications for both healthcare professionals and patients.

Corridor care: are the health and safety risks being addressed?

Patient Safety Learning’s Associate Director Claire Cox writes about the associated health and safety risks, questioning whether these are being properly addressed. Claire draws out key areas for consideration and suggests practical measures that can help protect patient safety in such challenging working environments.  

Response to RCN report: On the frontline of the UK’s corridor care crisis

On the 16 January 2025, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) published a new report presenting the findings of a survey of nursing staff outlining the extent of corridor care across the UK. This blog sets out Patient Safety Learning’s response to this report.

A nurse's response to the NHSE guidance on their principles for providing safe and good quality care in temporary escalation spaces

In this blog, an anonymous nurse reflects on the recent NHS England (NHSE) guidance on the use of "temporary escalation spaces" and why this is so far removed from 'work as done' on the frontline.

A silent safety scandal: A nurse’s first-hand account of a corridor nursing shift

In this anonymous account, a nurse shares their experience of corridor nursing, highlighting that corridor settings lack essential infrastructure and pose many safety risks for patients. They also outline the practical difficulties providing corridor care causes for staff, as well as the potential for moral injury. Using the System Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) framework, they describe the work system, the processes and how that influences the outcomes.

Poor continence care in overwhelmed emergency departments is leading to avoidable harm

A continence nurse highlights the difficulties in delivering toileting support to patients in overwhelmed emergency departments. They explain the challenges staff face, how these impact patient outcomes and experience, and why this needs to be urgently addressed. 

My experience of the 'Wait 45' policy

In this blog, a frontline healthcare worker shares their experience of the 'Wait 45' policy in my trust and the impact it is having.

Share your insights

Do you have experience of corridor care either as a patient or a healthcare professional? What impact have you seen on patient safety?

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