Responding to the latest NHS England Corridor Care data which reported nearly 100,000 instances of corridor care in England in September, the highest since the data was first published, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger, said: “Every day thousands of patients across England are lining corridors. This should never have been normalised. The practice is unsafe, with nursing staff not having access to what they need to deliver effective care, and undignified leaving patients and families without privacy in their most vulnerable moments. “The corridor care crisis in our hospitals doesn’t end without game-changing investment in the nursing workforce and system wide solutions. We must immediately build capacity in community services and in social care so we can treat people closer to home and discharge patients who are ready to leave hospital. Alongside increasing bed capacity in hospitals, this is the very minimum needed to start turning this crisis around.” Ends
“These latest figures, 14% higher than in May, show how dangerously pressured the NHS is with winter only weeks away. The prime minister has said that corridor care is a daily reality in the NHS and politicians have let down staff across health and social care. He is right and now his government must deliver the investment in the nursing workforce, and in our health and care system, needed to eradicate this practice.
Notes to editors
The NHS England corridor care data published today (Thursday 8 October 2026) reported that 99,290 instances of corridor care were recorded in England in September. This is the highest recorded since the data was first published in May, with an average of 3,310 instances a day and up 14% on May when there were 2,900.
