Wes Streeting must end corridor care now!

image of patients receiving medical care in corridors

Demand an end to corridor care with us.

We are incredibly concerned about corridor care and the impact this is having on NHS staff and patients.

We are hoping to find thousands of people to send Wes Streeting a letter asking him to act now.

It takes less than 30 seconds, and every voice makes a real difference. Thank you for getting involved!

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<div>Dear Wes Streeting,</div><div>A decade ago, the term corridor care was practically unheard of, but over the past few years it has become increasingly prevalent and normalised. Corridor care has become a catch-all term that refers to the provision of patient care in hospital corridors, cupboards, chairs and other inappropriate areas due to overwhelming demand and a lack of available resources.In 2024, you pledged to "consign corridor care to history where it belongs" [1], and just last month you recommitted to this plan, saying you wished to end it over the course of this parliament [2]. We appreciate the sentiment and believe that corridor care is abhorrent for both staff and patients, and must be dealt with as a matter of total urgency. However, since that initial statement, not enough has been done to tackle the situation.The government recently released guidance on how best to provide care in corridors [3]. We worry this adds to the practice becoming an accepted reality.Corridor care is now present throughout the year, not just during the so-called winter crisis. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Emergency Care’s report ‘Corridor Care’ found that almost one in five emergency department patients spent time in inappropriate temporary spaces during a summer month [4]. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) compiled the research and revealed the devastating reality and impact of corridor care, or care in temporary spaces as it is officially termed, for both staff and patients:<ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">Staff are repeatedly unable to deliver the level of care they wish to provide</li><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">Patients' dignity and privacy is compromised</li><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">Poor access to equipment makes it dangerous [5]</li></ul><div>It is not possible to provide decent and safe care in temporary environments.This is an emergency, it needs to be treated as such.There have been various calls from experts for change. EveryDoctor is now calling on the government to provide a clear plan and engage experts in formulating and carrying out that plan imminently.EveryDoctor is also collecting testimony from NHS staff currently working within emergency departments. What they're hearing is heartbreaking and dangerous: people working without the right equipment, physical obstructions preventing proper care, and feelings of despair and disillusionment. EveryDoctor is asking for a clear path with credible means of implementation, an ambitious timetable, and action taken to engage organisations that are offering help. They, and I, want a real show of political will to make it clear that you and the government are taking this issue as seriously as it needs to be taken. We understand that the government has plans to tackle wider issues within emergency departments [3]. But this does not go far enough or act fast enough on the corridor care crisis. The time for half measures is over. Corridor care is a safety hazard and, as president of the RCEM Dr Higginson rightly says, "a national shame" [5].Corridor care represents a fundamental failure to provide patients with the dignity, safety and quality of care they deserve. It places impossible burdens on dedicated NHS staff who are forced to work in conditions that compromise their ability to deliver proper care, and leave them under immense mental strain. I urge you to take immediate, decisive action to end corridor care not over the course of a parliament, but right now, as a matter of emergent priority. We need a clear plan now.</div>I look forward to your reply.</div><div> </div><div>[1] <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2024-10-21/streeting-some-patients-will-be-treated-in-hospital-corridors-this-winter">https://www.itv.com/news/2024-10-21/streeting-some-patients-will-be-treated-in-hospital-corridors-this-winter</a>[2] <a href="https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/health-secretary-end-corridor-care-hospitals-next-election-5HjdNpr_2/">https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/health-secretary-end-corridor-care-hospitals-next-election-5HjdNpr_2/</a>[3] <a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/principles-for-providing-patient-care-in-corridors/">https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/principles-for-providing-patient-care-in-corridors/</a>[4] <a href="https://rcem.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/APPG-report-final-2.pdf">https://rcem.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/APPG-report-final-2.pdf</a>[5] <a href="https://rcem.ac.uk/press-release/a-national-shame-research-reveals-devastating-reality-of-so-called-corridor-care/">https://rcem.ac.uk/press-release/a-national-shame-research-reveals-devastating-reality-of-so-called-corridor-care/</a></div>

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