Hospital accused of delaying ambulances to eliminate corridor care

 MaA hospital trust has been accused of delaying the offloading of ambulance patients so it can maintain zero “corridor care”.

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Trust had no patients being treated in corridors, while ambulance crews were providing care in its car parks, according to a West Midlands Ambulance Service board paper last week.

Minutes of the ambulance trust’s quality governance committee said UHCW had “better flow” than most local hospitals, but “the problem is our staff are still providing ‘car park care’”.

Paramedic and senior staff side representative Stephen Thompson told the committee that staff were frustrated about the situation. He said bringing even a small number of patients inside the hospital, which is on the outskirts of Coventry, would free up several ambulances to respond to other emergencies.

WMAS medical director Richard Steyn pointed out that acute trusts were now under pressure from NHS England to report on corridor care, and claimed there was less focus on ambulance handover delays.

“They [UHCW] will not tolerate corridor care, but they are responsible for the patient outside in the ambulance, but [they] are tolerating that,” he said.

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Source: HSJ, May 2026