“We all know that corridor care is unacceptable; it creates an exceptionally poor experience for patients – particularly older patients – and their loved ones, generates low morale for our staff, and undermines the public’s confidence in the ability of the NHS to provide safe care when they need it most.”
Sarah-Jane Marsh CBE National Priority Programme Director, Urgent and Emergency Care, NHS England, 4th March 2026
“Corridor care has become the most visible sign of an overstretched system. It is now all too common for patients to be treated in waiting rooms, corridors, and other unsuitable spaces, because there is simply nowhere else for them to go... . In a survey of Emergency Department Clinical Leads in summer 2025, almost one in five patients were being cared for in corridors.”
APPG on Emergency Care: Corridor Care 2025
Corridor care refers to the practice of providing patient care in spaces that are not designed or equipped for clinical use. Whilst patients and staff agree this is completely unacceptable a report by the APPG in 2025 stated that In a survey of Emergency Department Clinical Leads in summer 2025, almost one in five patients were being cared for in corridors. NHS England have committed to eliminating corridor care and will begin collecting data on corridor care, and will publish it, subject to data quality, each month from May 2026 on NHS England’s website.
“Our aim is always to deliver high standards of care for patients in the right place and at the right time. NHS England’s position is that corridor care is unacceptable and must not be normalised. We are committed to the total eradication of corridor care, recognising it as a clinical and moral imperative. NHS England considers the delivery of corridor care in departments or wards experiencing patient crowding to be unacceptable and should never be considered standard. Patients should only be placed in corridors in extremis and for the shortest possible duration, to ensure the time patients are cared for in this environment is kept to a minimum.”
NHS England 2026
“Corridor care has become such a permanent fixture in NHS hospitals that nursing staff are in danger of “losing all hope”, with collapsing care standards devastating morale, according to new testimony from our members.”
The RCN 2026
This conference focuses on improving practice in eliminating corridor care through practical solutions and action plans to eradicate the practice.
This conference will enable you to:
Network with colleagues who are working to eliminate Corridor Care
Understand the National definition and requirements in terms of escalation and incident reporting
Learn from outstanding practice in reducing corridor care
Reflect on how a human factors approach can change culture and practice
Develop your skills in escalation, reporting and learning from incidents of corridor care
Ensuring board ownership and escalation
Implement the principles for providing safe patient care in corridors when it does happen
Understand how you can action plan to eradicate corridor care
Identify key strategies for improving patient flow
Ensure you are up to date with the latest national developments
Self assess and reflect on your own practice
Supports CPD professional development and acts as revalidation evidence. This course provides 5 Hrs training for CPD subject to peer group approval for revalidation purposes
