Representatives from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the British Medical Association (BMA) descended on the Senedd today (Wednesday 10 December) to raise their concerns about the rise of corridor care in hospitals across Wales ahead of a debate on the topic in the Welsh parliament. 

The debate* which is due to take place this afternoon was prompted by a joint petition** by both unions which calls on the Welsh Government to put an end to corridor care by measuring its prevalence and taking steps to prevent overcrowding in hospitals such as investing in community care.

The petition which gathered the support of over 10,000 signatures from every corner of Wales was launched in April after nurses and doctors had reported*** their serious concerns about the harm it was causing patients and staff, including the added risks of death, poorer outcomes and the overall lack of dignity for patients.

A recent report by the Royal College for Emergency Medicine showed there had been over 900 excess deaths associated with long A&E waits in Wales last year.

Dr Manish Adke, chair of the BMA’s Welsh Consultants Committee who attended the Senedd said:
“As health professionals it is extremely distressing to see patients in unsafe, inappropriate spaces whilst they are at their most vulnerable. 

“What’s worse is that this practice is becoming systematically normalised and that is completely unacceptable. It is not what we trained for, it’s not the care we want to give and it’s putting patients at risk of serious harm.

“Without an allocated bed space we cannot stabilise patients with fluids, antibiotics or invasive lines. This adds serious risk to patients and leads to poorer outcomes and adds a greater risk of death.
“The Welsh Government must act now because lives depend on it”

Helen Whyley, Executive Director of RCN Wales said: “People from around Wales and beyond have united with us and the BMA to call for an end to Corridor Care. We’re asking Welsh government to listen to the strength of feeling and act now. 

Hardworking nurses and health care professionals are doing their best to care for seriously ill patients in unacceptable, dangerous and almost Dickensian-like conditions, adding stress to both the carer-giver and the patients and seriously putting lives at risk. 

We’re calling for the Welsh government to work with us and the BMA on resolutions for improved care pathways and conditions for both patients and health care professionals. This includes investment in front-line community care such as increasing the number of district nurses. 

Corridor Care is undignified, unsafe and unacceptable - the Welsh government must act to end this practice now.”
Ends

Notes to editors

Nurses and doctors will be outside the Senedd from 3-4pm on Wednesday 10 December. Please contact [email protected] to organise an interview with a doctor and [email protected] to organise an interview with a nurse

*The Senedd is going to debate the “End corridor care in Wales ” petition on Wednesday.

The debate is scheduled for 10 December 2025 at approximately 4.25pm (subject to proceedings)

The debate will be available to watch online on Senedd TV

**The RCN and the BMA call on the Welsh Government to immediately:

• Begin recording and reporting on corridor care in Wales, starting by making it a ‘never event’ for patients to receive care in chairs for more than 24 hours.
• Pause reductions in NHS Wales hospital beds. Nationally review capacity and deliver a clear, costed workforce plan to ensure hospitals and wider care settings can meet future demand
• Invest in community-based care by:
  - increasing the number of District Nurses (and nurses with a community nursing master’s degree) back to, and above, 2010 levels to meet demand.
   - restoring the proportion of NHS Wales funding in general practice to historic levels, with aspirations to increase, so that we train, recruit and retain enough GPs to move toward the OECD average number of GPs per 1000 people.
• Prioritise prevention and early intervention. Sustainable emergency care needs a strong focus on population health and early diagnosis to reduce avoidable crises.

*** Here are just some of the incidents of corridor care reported by doctors and nurses across Wales 

“I saw a patient with a fractured neck of femur on a trolley just inside the sliding doors to the emergency department. These doors were constantly opening and closing letting in a draught. He was not within earshot of any member of staff and his notes were nowhere to be found”

“Elderly patients waiting in chairs for a trolley or cubicle space in the Emergency Department. Patients waiting for 72 hours to be admitted to a ward”

“Some patients leave because they are exhausted after sitting on chairs all night. Patients have long waits for ambulances to arrive, long waits outside the Emergency Department in the ambulance and long waits for beds. These patients are often elderly and frail and this contributes to delirium. We know that these delays cause avoidable patient harms (excess mortality)”

“I had a patient with hip fracture waiting on ambulance corridor more than 16 hours. It was cold, undignified and she used nappies because due to pain she could not go to the toilet. She was on my Trauma list and it was heartbreaking to witness it.”

“Quite often patients are seen in the emergency department waiting area where no proper examination or discussion can take place; it is very undignified and patients suffer a great deal of not receiving the care they deserve.”

“I was the on call Medical consultant over the weekend. Reviewed frail elderly patients sitting on chair in corridor, makeshift waiting rooms and ambulance. There was an octogenarian with cerebral bleed, a confused woman with advanced dementia. This is unsafe clinical practice and unacceptable.”

“Having to tell a woman she has likely ovarian cancer in a corridor behind a curtain because there was no bed, and no available family room.”