Alarming revelations have emerged from a recent Royal College of Nursing (RCN) report, highlighting the dire conditions faced by NHS nursing staff and patients.
Over 5,000 NHS nurses participated in a survey exposing a systemic crisis, with many delivering care in overcrowded, unsuitable environments like corridors, converted cupboards, and car parks.
The report paints a grim picture with almost 7 in 10 respondents indicating they provide care in inadequate spaces daily. Disturbingly, 90.8% of nurses surveyed stated that patient safety is being compromised. Nearly 25% of the respondents were unaware that the corridors they worked in were designated as "temporary escalation spaces" by NHS England, potentially lacking critical risk protocols.
Nurses recounted harrowing experiences, such as caring for up to 40 patients in a single corridor, often without access to essential equipment like oxygen and cardiac monitors. These extreme conditions have led to miscarriages, failed resuscitations, and the heart-wrenching death of a cancer patient left in a corridor due to space constraints.
General Secretary and Chief Executive of the RCN, Professor Nicola Ranger, said:
"This devastating testimony from frontline nursing staff shows patients are coming to harm every day, forced to endure unsafe treatment in corridors, toilets and even rooms usually reserved for families to visit deceased relatives. Vulnerable people are being stripped of their dignity and nursing staff are being denied access to vital lifesaving equipment. We can now categorically say patients are dying in this situation.
“The revelations from our wards must now become a moment in time. A moment for bold government action on an NHS which has been neglected for so long. Ministers cannot shirk responsibility and need to recognise that recovering patient care will take new investment, including building a strong nursing workforce.”
The RCN-led coalition has urged the Westminster government and NHS England to disclose the number of patients being treated in these precarious settings. The report underscores the urgent need for transparent reporting and immediate intervention to protect patient safety and support the nursing workforce.
Acute Director at the NHS Confederation, Rory Deighton, added:
“This report is yet more evidence of the immense pressure on the NHS this winter. Despite the hard work of health leaders and their teams, they are having to make very difficult decisions over the best way to manage rising demand and keep patients safe. This includes treating patients in corridors and other parts of the hospital that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
“Corridor care is a last resort but NHS staff have been left with little choice and are doing all they can to mitigate the risks to patients. But they know this is frustrating for patients and their families, with NHS staff also being subject to the morale injury of being unable to provide the care they would like to. But in the current environment, NHS leaders and staff have been left with no alternative.
“This winter was always going to be incredibly hard given the NHS entered it following more than a decade of underinvestment – as highlighted in Lord Darzi’s report. But we must make sure that the NHS does not face another winter like the last few, which have been some of the worst in its history.
“While our members share the government’s ambitions to reduce waiting lists for routine procedures, we know we can’t sacrifice improvement in emergency care to fund elective care. They require an equal focus, and we look forward to working with the government on improving urgent and emergency care performance.”
As the UK faces this healthcare crisis, the voices of NHS nurses must be heard, and swift measures must be taken to address these critical issues.
Image credit: iStock
Video Credit: The Royal College of Nursing
