Responding to reporting that the NHS will be running ‘war game’ exercises ahead of winter, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger, said:

“Last winter, nursing staff sounded the alarm on the corridor care crisis in our hospitals, yet a year later health leaders and government officials are stress testing for another crisis rather than properly preventing one. There is still no transparency on the extent of corridor care taking place in the NHS as we rapidly head towards the winter months, despite promises from government to report this data in the spring.

“Where local plans don’t stand up to ‘war game tests’ additional funding to increase capacity and address staff shortages must be made available. However, the long-term answer to ending the annual winter crisis is addressing the systemic reasons driving it. This means delivering the ambitions of the NHS 10-year plan and shifting care to the community, which will only be achievable by finally giving the nursing workforce the investment it desperately needs.”

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