‘No patient should ever be put through an experience like this’: RCP calls for promised national corridor care figures to be published as long waits in A&E hit record high

The RCP is calling on government to set out a timeline for when it will publish data on corridor care data, one year after NHS England first made the commitment to publish data.

The renewed call from the RCP comes as new NHS figures show that: 

• 2.3 million people attended emergency departments in England last month, up from 2.2 million in January last year
• Over 71,000 patients waited more than 12 hours from the decision to admit to being admitted last month – the highest figure recorded since the dataset began in 2010
• An average of 13,823 beds each day last month were being used by patients who were medically fit to be discharged but remained in hospital.

Many of the patients who waited longer than 12 hours following a decision to admit will have received care in temporary environments, such as corridors. These waits are a sign that patient flow through hospitals remains a challenge – in many cases as a result of delays in discharging patients who are medically well enough to leave hospital because of problems in social care.

Professor Mumtaz Patel, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said: ‘Recently, an older patient was left on a chair in a corridor for more than 12 hours after a fall, despite being in pain and having multiple long-term conditions. During that time, their condition deteriorated – developing sepsis and dehydration – before eventually being moved to a high-dependency unit. They sadly died a few days later. No patient should ever be put through an experience like this.’

Dr Zuzanna Sawicka, clinical director for patient safety and clinical standards at the Royal College of Physicians, said: ‘I have seen firsthand how these systemic failures affect patients and families. In a recent case, a patient with advanced cancer had made it clear they wished to return home rather than pursue further treatment. All the discharge arrangements were completed, but with no hospice beds available and delays securing care at home, they remained in hospital. On the day they were due to be discharged, their condition deteriorated and they died in hospital before their family could see them.’

Figures from the RCP show that corridor care is a year-round issue - with 3 in 5 (59%) of UK physicians surveyed in September 2025 reporting that they provided care in temporary settings over the summer months that year (553 respondents).

RCP snapshot surveys in 2025 revealed that physicians were treating patients in corridors, storage cupboards and even gyms – spaces with no privacy, no dignity and, in some cases, not even basic equipment like oxygen or resuscitation facilities. In recognition of how widespread corridor care had become, in October 2025 the RCP published updated guidance to support physicians delivering inpatient care in both permanent and temporary environments.

Commenting on the need for corridor care data, Professor Patel said: ‘We were expecting published data on corridor care last Spring – but we are still waiting. The government must now urgently confirm a timeline setting out when this data will finally be released and regularly published. We need all year-round data on how many patients are being treated in temporary care environments.

‘We also need action to prevent corridor care in the first place. It’s not only patients who are suffering, but corridor care also risks driving doctors away from the NHS. Our snapshot survey of physicians last September showed that many felt corridor care had become normalised, and some said working in these conditions had made them consider leaving their roles.’

The RCP has also been calling on government to pledge long term investment in social care and public health initiatives to tackle avoidable admissions and improve health.

Dr Sawicka added: ‘When patients cannot leave hospital despite being medically fit, bed capacity becomes significantly stretched. Physicians across the country will be familiar with serious delays in discharging patients because of a lack of capacity in social care services to put care packages in place, such as home-care support, or arrangements for residential or nursing home placements. Long term, sustainable investment in social care is critical.’