Caring for patients in corridors, car parks or waiting rooms is not what nursing staff sign up for.
Members have told us how corridor care leaves them angry and ashamed.
Our General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger has called it “an absolute disgrace”.
The RCN is pressing politicians to end this unsafe and undignified practice with fully funded plans for all four nations of the UK.
Below is a timeline of key moments in our fight to eradicate corridor care across the UK.
This article will be updated.
- Is corridor care happening at your workplace? Raise a concern
2024
3 June: RCN raises the alarm on corridor care
The RCN declares corridor care a "national emergency” across the UK ahead of RCN Congress 2024.
At Congress, we publish Corridor Care: Unsafe, Undignified, Unacceptable, setting out evidence from members across all four UK nations and calling for mandatory reporting and urgent action to end the practice.
The report sets out the drivers of and long-term solutions to corridor care, including:
- adopting a whole-system approach to funding and additional, sustained investment in prevention, primary, community and social care
- public reporting of corridor care instances to ensure accountability
- boosting nursing supply and taking necessary steps to address recruitment and retention issues in the workforce
- developing and publishing assessments of current and projected demand and having an open dialogue with the public about expectations
- investing in estates and addressing the ongoing maintenance backlog.
20 June: RCN corridor care report discussed in Scottish Parliament
Scotland's First Minister faces questions on the RCN’s corridor care report at First Minister’s Questions, after Labour leader Anas Sarwar MSP cites RCN and Royal College of Emergency Medicine evidence and reads testimony from an NHS Scotland nurse.
John Swinney apologises “unreservedly” to patients affected by corridor care and says the government is doing “all that it possibly can” to tackle the problem.
2 July: the impact in Wales
RCN Wales hosts a meeting with representatives from other health care organisations to discuss the impact of corridor care in Wales.
5 July: RCN calls on new PM to work with nursing
The RCN urges new prime minister Sir Keir Starmer to work with the nursing profession to address patient safety and end corridor care, calling for immediate mandatory reporting to reveal the scale of the issue.
16 August: RCN raises concerns with Scotland health bosses
The RCN warns Scotland’s health leaders about the normalisation of care in inappropriate places and calls for urgent discussions.
RCN Scotland’s action results in Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) officially acknowledging that corridor care should not happen, and leads to a significant change in how corridor care is presented in official inspection reports.
18 September: new NHS England guidance
Following RCN calls for corridor care to be eradicated, NHS England (NHSE) gives health care trusts new guidance, saying care outside of a normal cubical or ward environment should not be normalised.
The RCN welcomes the new guidance, but again reiterates that reporting should be mandatory, not optional.
24 September: RCN calls for Scottish Parliament action on corridor care
The RCN urges the Scottish government to directly address corridor care in the Winter Preparedness Plan being presented to parliament.
We call on Cabinet Secretary Neil Gray to take action, highlighting the dangers of the normalisation of care in inappropriate spaces, and when additional beds are added to wards without the necessary staffing or equipment to ensure patient safety and dignity.
21 October: Wes Streeting acknowledges scale of corridor care crisis
Speaking to ITV News, the health secretary concedes there will be patients treated on trolleys in corridors over winter, saying “that’s not acceptable”.
He promises to “consign corridor care to history where it belongs” in “future winters”.
2025
13 January: RCN-led group demands mandatory reporting
Led by the RCN, a coalition of health and patient care organisations writes to Wes Streeting and NHS England bosses, asking them to commit to transparency on the full extent of care in inappropriate spaces.
It is the first time a broad coalition has urged the Westminster government to take action on corridor care.
That same month, the RCN also sends open letters to the Welsh Government and every health board in Wales, along with eight steps to tackle corridor care.
15 January: Wes Streeting speaks on corridor care
Responding to the RCN’s coalition, and ahead of our new report on corridor care, the health secretary speaks in Parliament, saying he “will never accept or tolerate patients being treated in corridors”.
16 January: ‘devastating testimony’ from RCN members
Patients dying in corridors, a lack of equipment, and unsafe practices are among the details in an RCN report documenting the experiences of more than 5,000 NHS nursing staff across the UK.
Our members tell us the grim reality of corridor care, in what our chief executive and general secretary calls “devastating testimony”.
In Wales, the RCN urges its members and the public to contact their Member of the Senedd directly about corridor care.
Later that month in Scotland, the shocking testimony on hospital overcrowding leads to both John Swinney and Neil Gray being challenged on corridor care in the Scottish Parliament.
28 January: RCN Wales says ‘the time to end corridor care is now’
In open letters to the Welsh Government, NHS Wales, key watchdogs and advocates, the RCN calls for eight steps to end corridor care in Wales.
We say the Welsh Government needs to listen to the expertise of the nursing workforce, and prioritise patient safety above all else.
30 January: Northern Ireland makes commitment on data
As a direct result of RCN pressure on the Department of Health, Permanent Secretary Peter May confirms to us that Health and Social Care (HSC) trusts will be recording data on corridor care.
It's the first part of the UK to secure this commitment.
Our report from earlier in the month is also referenced several times in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
5 February: Wes Streeting promises to publish corridor care data
The health secretary writes to our corridor care coalition, saying he agrees that corridor care data should be reported. He says he intends to do this in “spring 2025.” The data has still not been published.
13 February: nursing staff meet health secretary
Nursing staff meet Wes Streeting in person, telling him about the impact corridor care has on patient health and safety.
The meeting at the Department for Health and Social Care is organised to discuss the upcoming 10-Year Health Plan for England.
Chief Nursing Officer for England Duncan Burton and Health Minister Karin Smyth MP listen to the concerns of RCN members, Professor Nicola Ranger and our president Bejoy Sebastian.
20 February: RCN Scotland pushes for mandatory reporting
Neil Gray faces questions on corridor care from members of the RCN Scotland board at a meeting in Edinburgh.
Mr Gray agrees that any care given in inappropriate areas is unacceptable.
The RCN Scotland Board calls for mandatory reporting of hospital overcrowding so the full scale of the problem can be understood and addressed.
25 March: nursing staff meet politicians in Westminster
RCN members, Nicola Ranger, and Bejoy Sebastian meet MPs and peers in Westminster to express serious concern over corridor care.
Nursing staff tell the people attending – including several MPs who are members of the Health and Social Care Select Committee – that pressures in emergency settings are leading to people being treated in cupboards, chairs, corridors and other inappropriate areas.
March: RCN report leads to workshops
As a result of the RCN corridor care report, the Northern Ireland health minister, chief nursing officer and chief medical officer agree to run a series of leadership workshops called “The Big Discussion”.
These will focus on reducing demand on acute hospital beds, improving community care, and designing new patient pathways. Eight workstreams are created, and are led by senior trust clinicians and managers.
April: Northern Ireland makes data pledge
Northern Ireland Health Minister Mike Nesbitt confirms that publicly funded HSC trusts will start collating corridor care data from the beginning of June.
Between April and July, RCN Northern Ireland meets Mr Nesbitt and other officials to discuss what data will be recorded and reported.
29 April: unions in Wales ask public to sign petition
RCN Wales and BMA Cymru Wales (British Medical Association) launch a joint petition urging the Welsh Government to take immediate action to end care in inappropriate areas.
The petition was prompted by an overwhelming number of testimonies from nursing staff and doctors on the impact of corridor care.
30 June: Scotland agrees ‘urgent’ work against corridor care
After continued RCN pressure, the Scottish government accepts a critical recommendation from a report on multiple problems in Glasgow’s emergency departments.
The Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) report advises urgent work “towards eliminating the unacceptable use of non-standard care areas”.
July: RCN influence gets results in NHS England plan
Our extensive campaigning on corridor care leads to the Westminster government promising to “end the disgraceful spectacle of corridor care” within its 10-Year Health Plan for England.
Back in August 2024, we had submitted evidence to the Lord Darzi review that informed the government’s plan.
26 August: first official investigation planned
Following sustained campaigning by the RCN, an investigation into corridor care in England is announced: the first of its kind.
The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) – which carries out independent patient safety investigations in England’s NHS and independent health care settings – will provide a report to the Westminster government in the coming months.
24 September: RCN Wales manifesto ahead of Senedd election
Ahead of the May 2026 Senedd election, RCN Wales launches its manifesto setting out four urgent priorities to restore dignity, safety and sustainability in nursing – led by a clear call to end corridor care.
26 October: BBC puts Nicola Ranger question to Wes Streeting
The RCN sends a question for the health secretary to BBC journalist Laura Kuenssberg, which she puts to him live on her Sunday show.
Nicola asks:
The government must own this issue and stop putting patients at harm. When will it get better?
Mr Streeting says the Westminster government will “be publishing transparently the corridor care numbers so that I can be held to account.”
The data has still not been published.
24 November: RCN asks Neil Gray for response on corridor care
RCN Scotland writes to the cabinet secretary, asking for an update on the steps being taken to eliminate corridor care, including details of funding.
We point out the HSSIB investigation in England and data collection in Northern Ireland, saying we need to see similar progress in Scotland.
Neil Gray responds on 16 December, agreeing that corridor care should not be normalised, though he points to a wider plan to reduce waiting times and delayed discharges, rather than a specific plan to end corridor care.
10 December: nursing staff and doctors unite at the Senedd
RCN and BMA representatives stage a silent protest at the Senedd during a debate on corridor care, highlighting growing concern across the profession. The debate follows a joint union petition backed by thousands of people across Wales.
12 December: NHS England’s new corridor care guidance
Responding to new NHSE guidance on caring for patients in non-clinical spaces, the RCN says corridor care must be eradicated, not managed.
The guidance references our 2024 corridor care report. Key updates include the need for eradication and removal of the term "temporary escalation space", with a focus on corridor care as inclusive of any non-designated clinical space.
2026
8 January: corridor care normalised and year-round, investigator finds
Corridor care is becoming more permanent, according to the government’s own patient safety investigator for England.
A report from the HSSIB finds some trusts are adapting corridors for ongoing care, including installing call bells and plug sockets.
15 January: more testimony from RCN members
A year on from members’ devastating testimony, nursing staff across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales continue to report instances of corridor care.
The RCN reiterates its calls for urgent, fully funded action to eradicate the practice, including investment in beds, the nursing workforce, community services and social care.
In Northern Ireland, Alliance Party health spokesperson Danny Donnelly MLA says the latest RCN report shows staff and patients are bearing the cost of yet another year of delayed and ineffective winter planning. A registered nurse himself, he adds that improving patient flow should have been a core focus of the Winter Preparedness Plan.
4 March: RCN pressure leads to corridor care definition
NHS England publishes an official definition of corridor care, to enable accurate and consistent reporting.
The definition states that a patient has experienced corridor care if they’ve spent at least 45 minutes in a clinically inappropriate area of an emergency department or general and acute ward.
The announcement follows campaigning from the RCN-led corridor care coalition, which has been calling for greater transparency and mandatory reporting of data for more than a year.
NHSE commits to start collecting the data in March 2026, and to publish it from May onwards.
Nicola Ranger reiterates our solutions to corridor care, including:
- investment to expand capacity across the system and particularly in community services and nursing roles
- improving discharge processes
- removing red tape that prevents the effective use of social care capacity.
11 March: RCN General Secretary gives evidence to Health and Social Care Committee
A key group of MPs invites Professor Nicola Ranger to give evidence on corridor care. She emphasises her concern that the practice is being normalised. Referencing the testimony of nursing staff, she holds up a copy of our 2025 report On the Frontline of the UK's Corridor Care Crisis.
Nicola highlights that nursing staff in A&E departments are feeling the pressure and in some cases, experiencing violence and aggression towards them. She tells the committee that nursing staff feel a sense of shame and anger. They're losing hope.
Nicola tells the MPs how we've got to this point on corridor care:
Inch by inch we’ve compromised, normalised and mitigated. Who’s paying the price for that now? The staff and the patients
Nicola welcomes the new definition which will now see data collected, but says: "The only thing that will truly make a difference is a change in culture, to say 'this is unacceptable'."
We expect the committee to write to the Westminster government and NHS England to urge action on the points Nicola raised.
It’s not the end...
Remember to keep checking back as we’ll update this article with any significant developments in our campaign to stop corridor care in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
This work to end care in inappropriate spaces – for the safety of patients and the wellbeing of nursing staff – would not be possible without you, our members. Thank you for raising your concerns and adding your voice to ours.
We have to be that voice for our patients and our profession
“It is testament to all of your work in raising awareness that it is very much on the top of politicians’ lists to solve corridor care,” Nicola Ranger said.
“We all have to call out care that is undignified, in the moment, when we see it happening. We have to be that voice for our patients and our profession. I urge you, please let's not normalise abnormal care."
Raising concerns (and a success story)
If corridor care is happening at your workplace, it’s important to raise your concerns.
- Find out more in our raising concerns toolkit and get information on RCN support available from member support services.
- Read our corridor care inspection checklist designed to help RCN reps challenge unsafe conditions.
- And here’s the story of how one team tackled corridor care.
