Prime Highlights:
Nurses warn of unsafe conditions, with patients dying in hospital corridors due to severe overcrowding.
Two-thirds of nurse’s report treating patients in inappropriate areas like corridors, waiting rooms, and car parks.
91% of nurses say overcrowding compromises patient care, with risks like oxygen shortages and fire hazards.
Key Background:
In a damning new report, nurses from the National Health Service (NHS) have raised alarms over the severe overcrowding in UK hospitals, warning that patients are dying in corridors due to unsafe conditions. The Royal College of Nursing, a prominent British nursing union, released the findings, highlighting the dangerous consequences of “corridor care,” a practice forced by funding shortfalls and chronic underinvestment in the NHS.
The report, based on a survey of approximately 5,000 nurses between mid-December 2024 and mid-January 2025, reveals that two-thirds of respondents are regularly treating patients in corridors, storage areas, waiting rooms, and even carparks. The nurses described the situation as “undignified,” “unsafe,” and “degrading,” with conditions deteriorating to the point where patients are forced to endure inadequate care. Some described changing dementia patients in public areas, while others faced a lack of basic medical supplies, such as oxygen.
According to the survey, nearly 91% of nurses indicated that patient safety was compromised in these conditions, with delayed medical treatment and overcrowded spaces creating severe health risks. The overcrowding also exacerbates fire hazards and the potential for further medical complications due to long waits.
The National Health Service faces mounting pressure, with NHS hospitals pushed to their limits during a particularly harsh winter surge in illnesses. Nurses and doctors have voiced growing concerns, with some even considering leaving the profession due to the untenable working conditions.
Nicola Ranger, the chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, called for immediate transparency from the government regarding how many patients are being treated in these unsafe conditions and demanded greater investment in the NHS and nursing workforce. Dr. John Dean, from the Royal College of Physicians, echoed the need to eliminate corridor care, calling the situation “unacceptable.” UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting acknowledged the issue but warned that reversing the damage caused by years of underinvestment would take time. He reiterated that patients should not be treated in such conditions but suggested that the practice may persist in the short term as the system recovers.