\n Patients spent more than 11,000 hours waiting in A&E corridors in August.\n<\/p>\n
\n An average of 38 patients a day spent more than 45 minutes receiving so-called \u201ccorridor care\u201d in Worcester\u2019s Worcestershire Royal Hospital.\n<\/p>\n
\n PLAN: Chief nursing officer Hayley Flavell said staff are determined to “eradicate” corridor care (Image: Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust)\n<\/p>\n
\n The situation was similar at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, where an average of 31 patients a day spent at least 45 minutes waiting in a corridor.\n<\/p>\n
\n Hayley Flavell is chief nursing officer at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs both hospitals.\n<\/p>\n
\n Her report to the trust\u2019s board meeting on Tuesday, October 13 said: \u201cIn total [patients] spent 11,797 hours occupying these spaces, which is an increase compared to July. The emphasis is ongoing to eradicate corridor care<\/a> as part of a system wide response to improve flow.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n Managing director Stephen Collman said the trust is aiming to end corridor care in its hospitals by November 17, and would monitor progress on a daily basis.\n<\/p>\n \n \n \u201cWe want to be really ambitious about this given the amount of concern it causes colleagues and patients,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n \n Mr Collman said the process of getting patients out of A&E and into other treatment areas such as same-day emergency care (SDEC) will be streamlined.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cIf you come into the department and they feel you meet the criteria for one of those areas, you\u2019ll go – there\u2019s no debate about it.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cAt the moment there\u2019s a bit of \u2018we\u2019ve signed the criteria off but there\u2019s still a clinical conversation going on between the two\u2019 and that can cause delay, that can cause problems.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cUltimately, we keep using the phrase \u2018ED is not a waiting room\u2019.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n But Mr Collman warned that by ending corridor care, the trust has to make sure problems aren\u2019t being moved somewhere else.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cIn particular, we are not going to hold that risk outside in terms of ambulances.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n Ms Flavell had said earlier in the meeting: \u201cWe are still seeing patients being cared for in our corridors, including in ED.\n<\/p>\nAMBITIOUS: Managing director Stephen Collman said the trust will monitor progress against its plan to end corridor care (Image: Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust)\n<\/p>\n