A hospital in north London has advertised for a corridor nurse, as the NHS grapples with a winter crisis of rising pressures.
Recent days have seen more than a dozen hospitals declaring critical incidents as a “quad-demic” of flu, COVID, norovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) all put a strain on the health service’s resources.
In north London, Whittington Hospital has recently advertised for registered nurses who can work shifts in their corridors to offer care, when patients overflow from existing rooms.
The Sunday Times first reported on the move, describing the role as “corridor care” as others flagged it on social media.
Across the country, hospitals have been forced to place patients in corridors as they run out of space in existing rooms.
This comes as, this winter, Whittington Health NHS Trust, which oversees the hospital, has said it has faced “very significant pressure in urgent and emergency care”.
In a statement issued to Sky News, it continued: “In these circumstances, we may have to provide care in corridors, as an absolute last resort.
“In common with other hospitals, where this is necessary we bring in additional staff on a temporary basis to ensure that care can be delivered as safely and compassionately as possible to patients.
“We have worked with partners across the health and care system to request mutual aid at times of worst pressures, to alleviate the impact and ensure patients get care as quickly and safely as possible this winter.
“We apologise to any patient whose care has not met our usual high standards due to the exceptional level of demand and are grateful to all of our hardworking staff for their commitment during this period of extraordinary pressure.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting was asked about the job advertisement at the Jewish Labour conference.
Confronted on the issue and asked if he ever thought the NHS was beyond saving he recounted visiting emergency departments and being told “oh, you’ve actually come on a good day for us” as he was “walking around and seeing the trolleys in corridors and seeing particularly lots of frail, elderly people, lots of people with dementia, confused, distressed, crying out”.
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He added: “My first reaction was ‘oh, this is a good day’. It is extremely pressured this winter.
“Even with all of that, it’s just been a real nightmare for staff trying to meet demand, a nightmare for patients experiencing those conditions, and a nightmare for their families that are seeing them in that state too.
“I do not want to see a culture where corridor care is seen as normal or acceptable. It is not normal or acceptable.”
Ian Higginson, vice president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, shared a screenshot of a “corridor RN” bank shift on social media.
He said: “Corridor nurses and care in corridors utterly normalised (this is an advert for a corridor nurse but sadly it’s nothing new).”
“Almost every hospital is treating patients in corridors and car parks,” he added.
Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said corridor care is “degrading, dehumanising and dangerous”.
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“Let me be clear, it is not possible to provide truly safe patient care in environments such as corridors and cupboards,” he added.
