Patients 'dying in A&E corridors without painkillers' as hospitals overflow into cupboards and car parks
Today at 07:01 PM
PATIENTS are dying in A&E corridors and waiting rooms without painkillers as the NHS treats "unprecedented" numbers of people in non-medical areas, nurses warn.
A major report by the Royal College of Nursing polled more than 5,000 frontline nursing staff over Christmas.
Two thirds said they treat patients in non-medical areas like cupboards, car parks and offices every day.
In one case a 95-year-old woman with dementia could not have end-of-life drugs as she lay dying in a corridor without proper equipment.
Another patient died under a coat in a waiting room, and one was not found until hours later because staff were too busy to notice they had passed away.
If that was my mum I would have been horrified
Anonymous NHS worker
One anonymous medic from a major hospital in the South East said: "This is a very real fear of ours because it could happen on any shift.
"You can't keep track of all the patients.
"I had an elderly patient who spent eight hours nearing the end of her life in a corridor space in front of a patient who was vomiting and another who was screaming and shouting.
"There was no dignity at all – if that was my mum I would have been horrified."
MORE than 5,000 nursing staff contributed to the Royal College of Nursing's report, sharing their horror stories from hospitals across the NHS. Here are some of their words:
"An 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."
"It was a cancer patient whose immunity was very low because of her treatment. She should have been in a side room. She was very upset and crying. We put screens around her but she was in the path of the staff room and toilet, so it was constantly busy. That poor lady eventually passed away."
"A patient had a cardiac arrest in the corridor by the male toilet and died."
"A patient died in the corridor but wasn't discovered for hours."
"This morning staff left in tears as we had a cardiac arrest in a corridor where we couldn’t move the bed to the [resuscitation] area as there were other patients on beds blocking access. Sadly this lady died."
"I recall coming into work to find 30 people in the corridor. I had four people crying that they needed to use a bed pan and numerous older patients sitting in soiled blankets. This was because for 30+ patients we only had one cubicle where people could be examined or toileted."
"A 90-year lady with dementia was scared crying and urinating in the bed after asking several times for help to the toilet. Seeing that lady, frightened and subjected to animal-like conditions is what broke me. At the end of that shift, I handed in my notice with no job to go to."
The RCN said its 450-page report proves "corridor care" is more widespread than it has ever been.
General secretary Professor Nicola Ranger said: "Some of these 'temporary escalation' spaces have been open for two years.
"The scale of this is absolutely the worst it has ever been.
"I worry it will never get better."
A lack of bed space on wards, which were more than 95 per cent full before the flu season began, means casualty departments quickly get backed up.
Prof Ranger said every major hospital in England struggles to find space for all its patients.
Many have to wait on gurneys or chairs in corridors and overflow areas such as bathrooms, cloakrooms and even viewing rooms where families would normally view dead relatives.
Some who crash are given CPR on the floor because it is the only place they can be laid flat.
Union could strike again
The union warned members could strike again if the chaos is not fixed.
It is calling for hospitals to provide data on people being treated in corridors and for more NHS cash to plug staffing gaps and improve social care.
Prof Ranger said more tests and simple procedures should be done in community clinics to clear hospital space.
Saffron Cordery, of NHS Providers which represents hospital bosses, said: "It's clear much more needs to be done to minimise incidents of corridor care now and in the future."
NHS England's chief nurse Duncan Barton said: "This should never be considered the standard to which the NHS aspires."
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "I will never accept or tolerate patients being treated in corridors.
"It is unsafe, undignified, and a cruel consequence of 14 years of failure on the NHS and I am determined to consign it to the history books.
"I cannot and will not promise that there will not be patients treated in corridors next year.
"It will take time to undo the damage that has been done to our NHS but that is the ambition this government has."
