An average of nine patients each day were cared for in corridors or make-shift treatment areas by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust last month, new figures show.
The trust, which two weeks ago declared a critical incident at both its Basingstoke and Winchester Hospitals, experienced some demanding days in May where the number of people receiving medical care in unofficial treatment areas of its accident and emergency departments reached double figures.
NHS England has released figures for the number of patients treated in corridors in May. Picture: iStock / Kayode Fashola
It is the first time ever that NHS data on so-called corridor care has been published – a practice a nursing union has described as “unsafe” and “undignified”.
Nationwide, nearly 3,000 patients a day had to be cared for in corridors or make-shift treatment areas in England last month, according to the figures.
Nine patients a day were treated in makeshift areas across Hampshire Hospitals’ A&E departments
For Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust – which has since stood down its critical incident status but continues to urge people to use A&E only if seriously ill or seriously injured – the worst day of the month was Thursday, May 28, when 24 A&E patients were put in make-shift areas.
On May 12 and May 18, the number of A&E patients being treated in corridors was 23 and on May 31 – just days before a critical incident was declared over sustained pressures across the trust in which its emergency departments at both Basingstoke and North Hampshire and the Royal Hampshire County Hospital saw ‘extremely high attendance’ together with a low discharge rate – the figure was 18.
The trust has been approached for comment.
Elsewhere in the region at hospitals used by people living in West Berkshire there is a mixed picture.
Across the border at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust no patients received corridor care last month in either A&E or other parts of the hospital.
At Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – which runs the city’s John Radcliffe Hospital – an average of 15 patients each day in A&E were seen in makeshift areas.
Corridor care data has been published for the first time
While at Great Western Hospitals there were an average of 28 patients each day treated in A&E corridors and an average of eight patients in make-shift areas elsewhere in the hospital.
A spokesperson for the Swindon-based trust said when patients are waiting in assessment or escalation areas for a bed to become available, they continue to receive diagnostic investigations, medical treatment and supervision from clinical teams.
In a statement they added: “There are often high numbers of patients in hospital who are medically fit to go home but are waiting for a bed in the community, such as in nursing or care homes, and this is a key factor impacting on wait times.
“To free up beds for those who need admitting to a ward, our teams are working tirelessly with other organisations including social care to get people home as soon as they are able to.
“Local people can also help us by only coming to hospital if they really need to, and using the NHS 111 service in the first instance who can direct to the most appropriate healthcare setting for a patient’s needs.”
The Royal College of Nursing has described the situation as ‘undignified’. Picture: iStock/sturti
Responding to the first ever release of data showing the extent of corridor care in NHS hospitals, Royal College of Nursing general secretary and chief executive professor Nicola Ranger described the practice as ‘unsafe and undignified’.
She added: “Behind these figures aren’t just patients and families suffering, but nursing staff demoralised at being forced to deliver poor care, day in day out.
“The RCN declared a national emergency on this issue over two years ago.
“Patients deserve better than the slow action that has followed from government and health leaders.
“This data is an important step and can help us understand more about the prevalence of corridor care, but attention and investment must also be on eradicating the practice for good.”