NHS data has revealed that there was an increase in cases of corridor care at Ipswich and Colchester hospitals in June.
The 20 recorded cases of corridor care across Ipswich and Colchester are in stark contrast to West Suffolk Hospital, in Bury St Edmunds, which has left an Ipswich man ‘sick to his stomach’.
Martin Flory was left furious after receiving corridor care at Ipswich Hospital last month (Image: Contributed)
Martin Flory, who received corridor care at Ipswich Hospital last month, said: “It makes me feel sick to the stomach that so many people are not receiving adequate care in our hospitals.
“For example, elderly people shouldn’t be treated in the corridor it is degrading, I’ve never been so disgusted how its gone down hill in six years.”
Catherine Morgan, Chief Nurse at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), which runs Colchester and Ipswich hospitals, said: “Ultimately, we don’t want any of our patients to be cared for in a corridor.
“Our teams have been working hard to reduce corridor care in our A&E departments and hospitals.
Catherine Morgan, Chief Nurse at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) (Image: ESNEFT)
“We have already seen improvements and we will make sure the steps we have taken continue.
“We acknowledge and apologise for the fact that it’s a poor patient experience.
“However, we know that people who need urgent medical care are at greater risk in the community while they wait for an emergency ambulance to arrive. So, at times of peak pressure, some patients may receive care in a corridor temporarily.
“This approach has been agreed by us and our system partners to meet demand and get ambulances back on the road.”
Corridor care is defined by NHS England as treatment that does not take place in a clinically appropriate and safe setting.
Zero cases of corridor care were recorded at West Suffolk Hospital (Image: Newsquest)
The criteria used for defining an appropriate setting include at-bed services such as oxygen and call bells; whether privacy can be maintained; access to food, water and toilets; and whether lights can be turned off and noise levels minimised to allow sleep.
If treatment does not meet any one of these criteria, is it classed as corridor care.
The data shows the average number of patients each day to receive corridor care for at least 45 minutes in areas of hospital emergency departments or hospital wards.
This covers patients receiving treatment, waiting for assessment, admission or transfer, but does not include ambulance handover delays.
ESNEFT officials stated they cannot determine how many of the 20 confirmed cases of corridor care took place at Ipswich and Colchester hospitals individually.
Corridor care is defined by NHS England as treatment that does not take place in a clinically appropriate and safe setting (Image: Lucy Taylor)
However, no cases of corridor care took place at West Suffolk Hospital in June or May while a further 16 took place in May across Ipswich and Colchester.
Matt Keeling, deputy chief operating officer at West Suffolk Hospital, said: “It’s really important we take on board every bit of learning we can to improve our services.
“Using all the evidence we have, we continuously adapt to make sure patients get the right care, at the right time, and in the right place.
“We know being admitted to hospital isn’t always necessary and, as set out in the ten-year Health Plan for England, we are delivering more hospital-quality care where our patients live so our inpatient beds are available whenever they are needed.”