Corridor care improvement guide: A summary guide to support services to reduce corridor care (NHSE, March 2026)

Summary

Corridor care has become one of the most significant patient safety challenges within the NHS, exposing individuals to avoidable harm and compromising their privacy, dignity, and overall clinical safety.

This guide has been developed by NHS England to support clinical and operational leads by outlining the practical steps required to minimise and ultimately eliminate corridor care. Central to achieving this ambition is the adoption of GIRFT Clinical Operational Standards, which provide a consistent, trust-wide framework for timely clinical decision-making, improved patient flow across the urgent and emergency care pathway, and a reduced reliance on corridor care. It recognises the challenges trusts face in achieving this and acknowledge that elimination of corridor care is a longer-term ambition.

Achieving sustainable reductions will require health and social care systems to work collaboratively to establish clear, accountable action plans. Responsibility for delivery should rest with the acute hospital Chief Executive and executive triumvirate (Chief Operating Officer, Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Medical Officer).

Content

Supporting resources:

• GIRFT Clinical Operational Standards
• Principles for providing patient care in corridors
• NHS England The Model ED
• NHS England The Model Acute Pathway
• NHS England » Extended emergency medicine ambulatory care (EEMAC) operating principles