General debate on corridor care in the NHS
‘Corridor care’ is a term used where patients are treated in hospital corridors and other areas that lack the usual facilities for clinical care. Several reports have raised concerns about the scale of corridor care and the impact this is having on patients and staff.
While there is broad agreement that corridor care is unacceptable, there is also an acknowledgement that guidance is needed for healthcare staff who have no alternative but to regularly provide corridor care. NHS England issued guidance on the use of corridor care in September 2024, updated in December 2025 and again in June 2026. This covers the assessment and mitigation of risk, maintaining the quality of care, raising concerns and reporting incidents, and data collection and measuring harm.
On 4 March 2026 NHS England published information for NHS trusts, setting out a definition of corridor care, as well as actions to “virtually eliminate” its use. The NHS England definition is that a patient has experienced corridor care if they have spent at least 45 minutes in a clinically inappropriate area of an emergency department or general and acute ward. Based on this definition, NHS England said it would begin collecting data on corridor care, and publish it each month from May 2026.
In June 2026 the first data for the English NHS was published, showing that there were 69,469 instances of corridor care in emergency departments in May 2026 and 20,732 elsewhere in hospitals – a total of 90,201, or 2,910 patients a day.
There have been a large number of reports about corridor care. In January 2026 the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) published the results of its inquiry into Patient care in temporary care environments. They found patients are now frequently treated in environments that compromise safety, dignity, and clinical effectiveness. They also note the ethical challenges faced by staff, that can contribute to burnout and workforce attrition. They also cite evidence that public confidence in emergency care is being eroded. HSSIB found that patients treated in corridors face significantly higher safety risks due to poor visibility, delayed monitoring, difficulty summoning help, and a lack of basic clinical infrastructure. They also noted concerns about a lack of privacy and dignity for patients treated in temporary care spaces.
On Wednesday 11 March 2026 the Health and Social Care Committee took oral evidence from Health Minister Karin Smyth, the leaders of the Royal Colleges of Nursing and Emergency Medicine, and others. In this session, the Committee questioned witnesses on what actions should be taken to reduce corridor care and what pressures are causing it to become more commonplace in acute settings. They also explored what steps could be taken by hospital leaders to manage corridor care as safely and effectively as possible.
On Wednesday 8 July 2026 there is a House of Commons General Debate on Corridor Care in the NHS, which has been nominated by the Backbench Business Committee. This Commons Library briefing has been prepared ahead of this debate.
Further information on official data on corridor care, including local data, can be found here: Corridor care statistics (England).