Speaking to BBC Essex, Mr Hulme said: “Some aspects of the reports are very disappointing.
“We’ve had some major challenges in the system, finding mental health beds and those long waits for people with mental health conditions, and clearly A&E is not the best place for them to wait.
“I’m not saying we don’t have challenges; every A&E department up and down the country is facing unprecedented levels of activity.
“We need to make sure that all of our staff have been trained appropriately to give the best care they possibly can under the circumstances.”
He continued: “Whilst the report is obviously disappointing, we’ve provided additional training to all of our staff in terms of looking after people with mental health conditions.
“The issue with corridor care is that absolutely nobody wants to be cared for in a corridor, but it is a decision that we’ve made as a system to release the ambulances to get to the most urgent cases in our community – we will look after patients in a corridor.”
Mr Hulme added that corridor care “is the best of a bad situation where there aren’t enough acute beds in Colchester Hospital”.
He said: “Despite the growth of the city, we have been given no additional funds for the extra beds”.