Lib Dems call for “end to corridor care” by end of the Parliament as data reveals 163,000 patients faced 12-hour trolley waits this winter

EMBARGO: 00.01 Saturday 22nd March

• Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan calls for an “end to corridor care” by the end of this Parliament in speech to Party’s Spring Conference
• New analysis reveals there were over 163,000 12 hour plus trolley waits this winter, up 15% compared to last year
• Some areas saw over half of patients waiting 12 hours or more before being admitted to hospital this winter

Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan will today (Saturday 22nd March) call on the Government to end “corridor care” in hospitals by the end of this Parliament, in a speech at the Party’s Spring Conference in Harrogate.

She will warn that long waits in A&E have become the “new normal,” and will call on the Health Secretary to set out a plan to ensure that no one has to suffer the indignity of corridor care again by the end of this Parliament at the very latest. The Party’s Health and Social Care spokesperson also said that last winter should be the last winter crisis that patients ever have to face.

The Liberal Democrats said policies to achieve this should include a new ring-fenced winter-proofing fund for the NHS including to increase the number of hospital beds, and speeding up cross-party talks on social care so they conclude by the end of the year.

It comes as research by the House of Commons Library, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, found there were over 163,000 ‘trolley waits’ of 12 hours or more this winter. The analysis looks at how many patients waited over 12 hours in A&E after a decision to admit them to hospital, commonly known as trolley waits. In some areas, a shocking one in two patients who were admitted to hospital waited 12 hours or more after a decision to admit.

Overall there were 163,000 trolley waits of 12 hours or more this winter, up 15% from 142,590 in the same period last year. It means more than one in 10 (10.2%) patients faced a wait of 12 hours or more after a decision to admit them to hospital this winter. Recent analysis has estimated that around 50,000 people died last year after long A&E waits. 

There have also been harrowing stories this winter of patients dying in corridors and glorified cupboards as A&Es struggled to cope with the growing pressure. Some NHS Trusts have also started advertising positions for ‘corridor care nurses’ to work shifts in their corridors and provide care there.

North Middlesex University Hospital Trust was the worst in the country with a staggering 53% of waits following a decision to admit being 12 hours or longer. This was followed by Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals with 49.7% and Croydon Health Service Trust with 38.4%.

On winter pressures, Helen Morgan MP will say:

“Patients such as my constituent Emma, who having been diagnosed with sepsis spent 48 hours in a fit-to-sit area, and then 12 hours on a trolley in an X-ray corridor before finally being admitted, alongside a horrifying delay in the medication required to deal with her life-threatening condition. I’m glad to say Emma is recovering.

“But these horrifying stories are symptoms of what we have described in recent years as ‘winter pressure’, or occasionally even ‘winter crisis’ with hospitals full due to spikes in winter diseases such as flu, Covid, and Norovirus. 

“Far from being an unexpected bolt-from-the-blue, this ‘winter crisis’ has become an annual event and the knock-on effect for the community is devastating.

“Over the last couple of years, there has been widespread reporting from nurses that they are delivering care in overcrowded and unsuitable places - such as corridors, converted cupboards and even car parks - on a daily basis. 

“Patients are forced to routinely receive care in unsuitable conditions, without dignity or privacy, and compromising patient safety.  

“And this is fast becoming the new normal.

“This year, several job postings for “corridor care nurses” were advertised across the country, as hospitals desperately sought to cope with appalling overcrowding in A&E. Patients should not be expected to accept this.”

On ending corridor care, she will say:

“Almost every year, the Government has ended up announcing hundreds of millions of pounds of emergency funding to help the NHS through another winter crisis. Halfway through the winter.

“What if, instead of just reacting… normalising corridor care and spending money far too late… we invested, now, properly, to ensure the NHS is prepared for next winter? 

“The Government has the opportunity  – and the responsibility – to end corridor care, forever, to ensure patients never have to face such indignity again. This has to happen by the end of this Parliament at the very latest.  

“That’s why we have called for a winter taskforce – which would begin now and work throughout the year to prevent the annual winter crisis. A £1.5bn ring-fenced fund to ensure that hospitals can prepare for the surge in patients before it happens, accessing extra beds and extra staff without resorting to corridors and cupboards.”

On social care she will say:

“The Casey Commission won’t report back on its findings until 2028 – three years time and just before a general election.

“The risks of social care plans becoming a political football once again are far too high.

“And 2028 is too late for a care sector on its knees.

“And we were angered beyond words when those cross-party talks were abandoned at the last minute because of ‘diary clashes’.

“Which politician can’t be bothered to clear their diary for a once in a generation chance to fix the problem of social care? Not one that is fit for office, that’s for sure.  

“The truth is, that it is Liberal Democrats providing the only real opposition to this Labour Government when it comes to the NHS and Care.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The research from the House of Commons Library can be found here. The winter months are December through to February.

Recent analysis on deaths in A&E can be found reported by The Telegraph here.

Reporting on patients dying in glorified cupboards and corridors can be found here and here. 

Reporting on Trusts advertising for corridor care nurses can be found here. 

Helen Morgan MP is available for interviews on the morning of Saturday 22nd. If of interest please contact press@libdems.org.uk.