More than 52,000 patients waited longer than 24 hours to be admitted to hospitals across north-west England last year, a BBC investigation has revealed.
Known as "corridor care", patients are lining up on trolleys or sitting on chairs, stuck in A&E because there are no beds for them in the wards.
The Royal College of Nursing has described the situation as a "national emergency" and called on the government to end the practice.
NHS England said the NHS was currently experiencing its busiest winter on record and hospitals around the country had been "experiencing rising demand for a number of years".
Dr Michael Gregory, regional medical director for NHS England in the North West, said: "Providing care in corridors is not what we want for our patients, and we are working hard to reduce the use of corridor care and tackle long waits."
Aside from the misery facing patients, the pressure on medical staff is huge.
The Royal College of Nursing has been campaigning on the issue for several years.
"We're hearing from members who are going to work, feeling anxious and upset. We've had members saying they're sitting in their car crying before they go into work," said Simon Browes, the college's North West regional director.
"It's because they can't do the job they want to do and they're faced with this distressing, relentless situation".
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has described the situation countrywide as "a national shame", while the Royal College of Nursing has called it "a national emergency". Both are demanding an end to the practice.
Browes, who worked as a nurse before taking on his role at the RCN, said the health risks to patients of corridor care are well known.
"We're going to see people dying who should not die. We're going to see people leaving the profession because they can't work under those conditions any more," he said.
Source: BBC News, 2 March 2026
Read our blogs on corridor care:
- How corridor care in the NHS is affecting safety culture
- The crisis of corridor care in the NHS: patient safety concerns and incident reporting
- Corridor care: are the health and safety risks being addressed?
- Corridor care guidance needs to move beyond what “should” happen and grapple honestly with why it isn’t
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