Staff are being booked specifically to provide care in hospital corridors.
Nurses and doctors providing care to patients in corridors is now the new normal for many hospitals, the Royal College of Nursing has warned.
The College has warned that hospital staff are creating make-shift IV stands from “Ikea hooks”, and some patients are having cardiac arrests because of mistakes made using cumbersome oxygen cylinders.
Last month a massive 54,532 patients in England waited more than 12 hours from a decision to admit to a hospital bed.
It has now been revealed that some hospitals are now booking nursing and medical staff specifically to provide care in corridors.
RCN members are set to head out on strike again later this week in an ongoing row over working conditions and pay.
I’ve unfortunately spent 12 hours today in an A&E corridor with my mum, thankfully all OK & we’ll be out of here soon. But @RishiSunak the conditions we witnessed today are utterly unacceptable. The picture shows the corridor lined with chairs and dotted around are these hooks… pic.twitter.com/WhQJ86NAag
— Hayley Grafton (@HayleyGrafton) January 8, 2023
Health and care is in crisis.
RCN Director for England, Patricia Marquis, said: “Ministers – including the Prime Minister – have so far refused to acknowledge that health and care is in crisis, yet some of what we are hearing from the frontline beggars belief.
“Corridor care appears to have become the norm. Some nurses are being booked to work in hospital corridors, others are being asked to buy Ikea hooks so intravenous drips can be attached to the corridor wall, and some patients are having cardiac arrests because of mistakes made using cumbersome oxygen cylinders to treat them.
Ms Marquis continues, “And ministers’ solution? Treat patients in cabins in car parks or move them to care homes who don’t have the staff to run extra beds or to hotel rooms.
“Today’s figures suggest this picture is only going to get worse. Hospitals are full, many patients face very long waits to be admitted from A&E and the waiting list for routine treatment remains sky high.
“The government has had months and months to address this but has not acted. They must row back on years of underinvestment in nursing, starting with an immediate pay rise.
