More than a year ago, the Royal College of Nursing declared corridor care a crisis. Today, that warning is true at the very top of our health system: a health board chief executive has openly admitted that emergency care in Wales is in a “dire” state.
Responding to the latest example of corridor care in hospitals, RCN Wales Executive Director Helen Whyley said: "The frank admission that emergency care in north Wales is in ‘dire’ crisis reflects exactly what RCN members tell us, and what patients, families, and staff have endured for far too long: corridor care is not care, and the system is letting people down.
“When patients are left waiting in ambulances for hours, when emergency departments are overflowing, and when hundreds remain in hospital despite being medically fit to go home, the harm is real. People are suffering, staff are exhausted, and public trust is being eroded.
"Recognising the scale of the crisis is only the first step. We welcome the health board’s honesty, but what Wales needs now is urgent, visible action. That means reporting every case of corridor care, fixing patient flow immediately, ending dangerous handover delays, and working with social care to free up beds and speed up safe discharges.
"This cannot lead to yet another strategy or report. It is about ensuring patients are treated with dignity today, and that frontline staff are not forced into the impossible situation of providing care in corridors, waiting rooms, and other wholly inappropriate places.
“The Royal College of Nursing and the British Medical Association are jointly running a petition calling for a Senedd debate on corridor care in Wales. This is the chance to put the voices of patients and staff at the centre of political action. Anyone concerned about the state of emergency care should sign the RCN petition to demand change.
"We demand the Welsh Government to act decisively. The crisis has already been named, and today it has been admitted. The time for change is not tomorrow, but now. People in Wales deserve safe, timely, and compassionate emergency care. Every day without action deepens the damage".
Notes to editors
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK, including around 30,500 members in Wales. The RCN promotes the interests of nursing and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape health care policy.
For more information, contact the RCN Wales communications and media team on 02920 680 769 or mediawales@rcn.org.uk
