Nurses caring for patients in corridors due to overcrowding

Nursing staff in Scotland say there has been a devastating collapse in care standards, with multiple patients being treated in corridors due to severe overcrowding.

Shocking new testimony reveals that nurses have been unable to access oxygen, cardiac monitors, suction and other lifesaving equipment as a result of the pressures they are facing.

They have witnessed patients going into cardiac arrest while in a corridor, report patients being left with no access to bathroom facilities or buzzers and having to deliver personal care to incontinent patients with no privacy.

The survey of NHS nursing staff across the UK shows the scale of the corridor care crisis in hospitals, with almost seven in ten (66.81%) saying they are delivering care in overcrowded or unsuitable places – like corridors, offices, converted cupboards and even car parks – on a daily basis.

Nine in ten of those surveyed say patient safety is being compromised.

The experiences of over 5,000 nursing staff, including almost 500 from Scotland, highlight a devastating collapse in care standards, with patients routinely coming to harm.

The Royal College of Nursing says the testimony, which runs to over 400 pages, must mark a “moment in time”.

One nurse from Scotland, said: “This elderly patient who was bed bound was doubly incontinent and needed a space in private to be cleaned, our only option was the charge nurse’s office.”

Another said: “A very confused patient was brought to the corridor. This patient wandered the corridors and was found in different areas of the ward multiple times.

“A bed was eventually found in a temporary area which was an office usually used for out-patients appointments, it still had the computer desk set up and had no window or toilet.”

The survey shows overcrowding is taking place across wards with extra beds being added to bays and nursing staff doing their best to care for patients in bathrooms, offices, cupboards and bereavement rooms.

A nursing support worker said: “My last shift, I went into a full ward and 34 patients referred to come into the ward, ten of which were in the corridor already waiting.

“One of the patients had a stroke, another with an increased oxygen requirement and several with the flu. (It was) extremely unsafe as patients kept on arriving with nowhere to move our already admitted patients to.”

The testimony also reveals serious concerns about infection prevention and control with patients crammed into tight spaces next to one another.

The RCN says corridor care has become normalised in NHS hospitals across the UK, as nursing staff report elderly and vulnerable patients receiving undignified and unsafe treatment.

Colin Poolman, director of RCN Scotland added: “This report makes for distressing reading and should be a wakeup call for Scottish Government.

“The impact goes far beyond the doors of emergency departments, with nursing staff across many acute settings desperately struggling as they are forced to create space in clinical areas for additional unstaffed beds or provide patient care in corridors and other inappropriate locations.

“This is completely unacceptable for patient safety and staff wellbeing. No patient should ever have to suffer the risk or indignity of being cared for in such a way – yet it has been allowed to become normal practice.

“The Scottish Government must commit to publishing the data on exactly how many patients are being cared for in these circumstances. The public deserves to know what is happening to patient safety.

“They must also commit to long term action and investment focused on addressing the nursing workforce shortages and building sustainable capacity both within in the NHS and most importantly within community and social care.”

Scottish Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for health Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: “This devastating report must be an urgent wake-up call for SNP ministers.

“The scandalous failure of successive SNP health secretaries has left nurses to deal with complete chaos in hospital corridors.

“That has put suffering patients in appalling situations where their safety is at risk and they are left without access to basic facilities.

“Despite the best efforts of dedicated nurses, they are simply unable to deliver the care patients require due to a lack of resources and planning from the SNP government.”

Health secretary Neil Gray apologised to patients whose experience of the NHS had “fallen short of the standards we all expect from our health service”.

He said: “A&E departments are under pressure due to high occupancy and delays with patients who need extra support before going home, which affects the flow of patients from A&E to inpatient wards.

“But we are determined to drive improvements, reduce waiting lists and tackle delayed discharge. If passed by Parliament, our Budget will provide £200m to help backlogs, improve capacity and remove blockages that keep patients in hospital longer than necessary – ensuring we can deliver the best possible service for patients.”