Senior staff told the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) that they made the investment as they ‘could not avoid using these spaces’.<\/p>\n
A report by the health and safety watchdog called for a ‘nationally agreed definition’ of so-called temporary care environments, such as corridors, offices and storerooms, along with a better understanding of how and when they are used in the NHS.<\/p>\n
For the probe, the HSSIB visited 13 hospitals between August and December 2025 and included input from a further four hospitals.<\/p>\n
It said in all observed cases, corridor care was regularly used. Some hospitals had installed emergency call bells, plug sockets, patient call bells and communication systems in temporary care spaces.<\/p>\n
Some senior hospital staff said they did not want to make the changes as they ‘did not want to normalise’ corridor care.<\/p>\n
![\"Patients](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/105324119-15443843-image-a-1_1767834521665.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Patients being treated in hospital corridors has become increasingly common due to a lack of available beds (file photo)<\/p>\n
But others said they adapted the spaces because they ‘could not avoid’ using them.<\/p>\n
Safety risks highlighted in the report included difficulty monitoring patients and recognising those who were deteriorating, increased risk of infection, a lack of piped oxygen and insufficient staff levels.<\/p>\n
Saskia Fursland, senior safety investigator at the HSSIB, said: ‘Until there is a solution to the complex underlying issues related to patient flow, we must recognise that hospitals may have no choice but to use temporary care environments.<\/p>\n
The Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘No one should receive care in a corridor. NHS England is working closely with trusts to reduce variation, tackle inconsistencies, improve data collection and reduce discharge delays, alongside social care colleagues.’<\/p>\n
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