NHS England has launched a new push to eradicate the “unacceptable, undignified” practice of treating patients in corridors, setting a goal to end the practice entirely by the end of the current parliamentary term. The initiative will see expert teams deployed to the trusts with the highest rates of what is now formally termed ‘corridor care’.
What ‘corridor care’ actually means
To tackle the problem, NHS England has for the first time established a formal definition. As of March 2026, ‘corridor care’ is defined as a patient spending at least 45 minutes in a clinically inappropriate area of an emergency department or general and acute ward. This definition, intended to standardise reporting across the health service, applies to any non-designated clinical space, such as corridors or makeshift areas. It explicitly excludes clinical spaces opened as part of planned winter pressure contingencies, marking a shift from the previously used term ‘temporary escalation space’, which has now been removed.
The scale of the issue is vast. An investigation by The BMJ in December 2025 found 79% of NHS trusts in England were treating patients in corridors or similar areas, amounting to at least half a million patients. In some trusts, one in four A&E patients received care in these conditions. Medical professionals have described heartbreaking scenes, including end-of-life conversations being held in public corridors. The Royal College of Nursing has gone further, labelling the practice a “type of torture” and highlighting cases where patients have died in corridors, unseen by staff. The Health Services Safety Investigations Body has warned of significant safety risks in these environments, including increased infection rates and a lack of essential equipment.
The government’s response involves both hands-on support and significant funding. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has condemned corridor care, and the new plan will see specialist teams help the worst-affected trusts understand their data and improve patient flow. This effort is part of a broader strategy backed by £215.5 million to create 40 new and expanded same-day emergency and urgent care centres, aiming to relieve pressure on overcrowded A&E departments. NHS England’s official guidance states that corridor care should only be used in “extremis” and for the shortest time possible, with strict requirements to maintain patient safety, privacy, dignity, and oversight.
Despite this, concerns persist. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has criticised the new 45-minute definition, arguing it may not capture all patients enduring long waits in unsuitable spaces. The Royal College of Nursing insists a fully funded action plan—covering beds, nursing staff, community services, and social care—is essential for eradication. The charity Patient Safety Learning has pointed to a “significant gap between policy and practice.” To improve transparency, NHS England will begin publishing monthly data on corridor care from May 2026, using the new definition, and trusts are being urged to report incidents via patient safety systems.
Professor Tim Briggs, NHS England’s national director for clinical improvement, elective and UEC recovery, and chair of the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) improvement programme, leads the initiative. “We have worked alongside these trusts to produce guidance and standards, as well as providing hands-on support, which will help them significantly reduce corridor care,” he said. His role also connects the issue to the wider elective recovery effort, where his GIRFT programme works to reduce clinical variation and tackle long waiting lists through initiatives like the “Further Faster” transformation scheme.