National monitoring has been announced in hospitals in England and Northern Ireland, with SNP ministers warned Scotland must follow suit to understand the full scale of the problem.
A survey by the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland found around 19% of staff had to provide care to patients in inappropriate settings on a daily basis.
Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane asked the Health Secretary to confirm whether he would make it a requirement for corridor care data to be regularly collected and published.
Mr Gray did not directly mention corridor care in his response to the written parliamentary question, but said ministers were “actively considering” ways to further develop data collection.
He said the Scottish Government was clear “no patient should be treated in a space not fit for clinical care”.
Read more:
But he added: “Although there is existing data already collected and published such as 12 hour A&E waits and acute receiving occupancy we are actively considering ways in which data collection can be further developed with Public Health Scotland. This includes how to improve consistency of four-hour recording for A&E attendances.
“We will continue to work with Public Health Scotland, National Services Scotland and the Centre for Sustainable Delivery to understand and identify any gaps in the current data to improving urgent and unscheduled care analysis.”
Dr Gulhane said it was “astonishing” that Mr Gray did not want to know the “true extent” of corridor care.
He said: “Doctors, nurses and patients alike know that ‘corridor care’ is a growing reality in Scotland’s overwhelmed hospitals.
Health Secretary Neil Gray. (Image: PA)
“This practice is dangerous, as well as compromising the dignity and privacy of patients, yet it’s happening because of NHS is at breaking point after years of SNP mismanagement. It’s deeply upsetting for frontline staff to have to provide care in these settings.
“Neil Gray doesn’t know the true extent of this problem and, astonishingly, doesn’t appear to want to know. Why? If it’s because the health secretary doesn’t want Scots finding out how many patients are being treated in corridors on his watch, that’s shameful.
“It’s common sense to collect and public this data as a first step towards addressing it. That’s why England and Northern Ireland have both committed to doing so.”
He added: “Neil Gray has a duty to let the public know what is happening in our hospitals.”
Corridor care exists because of overcrowding in emergency departments and hospital wards across the country.
The Royal College of Nursing in Scotland has repeatedly called on the Scottish Government to track corridor care.
It was first introduced as an emergency measure, but Mr Poolman warned it had become “normalised” in Scotland’s NHS.
He told The Herald on Sunday: “Corridor care has continued throughout the summer and is a significant concern going into winter.
Read more:
“This is a symptom of a health and care system that has failed to respond to the growing and changing needs of the population.
“What was once an emergency measure for exceptional circumstances has become normalised.
“It’s unsafe and undignified for patients, and yet health and care leaders still lack a complete picture of the scale of the problem.
“National reporting of patients being cared in corridors and other inappropriate areas is essential to reveal the extent of hospital overcrowding and to challenge the normalisation of this approach.
“We need to see urgent progress from the Scottish Government on this, as well as investment to increase capacity in community and social care settings.”
A Royal College of Physicians survey of doctors across the UK revealed 59% had treated patients in a temporary care environment between June and August 2025, including corridors, gyms, offices and cupboards.
A separate report from the Royal College of Nursing in January found patients were regularly coming into harm because of corridor care.
Nursing staff reported being unable to access oxygen, cardiac monitors and other lifesaving equipment in the make-shift hospital wards.
The report found some patients had gone into cardiac arrest in corridors, while others had no access to toilet facilities or buzzers, with nurses also having to deliver personal care to incontinent patients with no privacy.
In January, the Health Secretary said corridor care was not becoming an “inevitable” part of hospital treatment.
A previous written question on corridor care, submitted by Tory MSP Stephen Kerr, asked how many patients had died or suffered “serious harm” in the past five years in circumstances linked to corridor care.
Mr Gray responded in early September, stating the data was not collected.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are clear that no patient should be treated in a space not fit for clinical care. To address the wider pressures that can lead to this, we are investing £200 million to improve patient flow, enhance capacity and remove blockages keeping patients in hospital longer than necessary.
“We have robust data in place that allows us to assess system pressures and impact on care and are working with Public Health Scotland and partners to enhance urgent and unscheduled care data.
“To help shift the balance of care from acute to community we will also deliver direct access to specialist frailty teams in every A&E and expand Hospital at Home to at least 2,000 beds by the end of 2026.”