Almost one in five people in England has received or witnessed NHS care being delivered in non-medical areas – such as corridors or waiting rooms – in the last six months, according to a new survey.
The poll, conducted for the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), also found nine in 10 people believe tackling corridor care in the health service is a matter of urgency.
The college is calling for action to tackle to issue, including bringing in mandatory reporting and more investment for nursing staff.
The YouGov survey of 2,267 adults found 19% had either received or witnessed care being given in areas like corridors, waiting rooms, offices and car parks in the last six months.
Nine in 10 (90%) said tackling corridor care is either very or fairly urgent, while almost half (48%) think if the Government does take action, it could be eradicated within one year.
Professor Nicola Ranger, chief executive and general secretary of the RCN, said: “The public and nursing staff can see a tragedy for patients unfolding before their eyes.
“They know care standards are unacceptable and they want Government to act decisively.
“The first step it can take to protect patients from corridor care is to introduce mandatory reporting of any time it takes place.
“But to properly solve this crisis, the Government has to bring forward new and urgent investment into the nursing workforce, especially in the community and social care. That is the key to keeping patients healthy at home and easing pressures on hospitals.”
The poll follows a damning report by the RCN on the state of the NHS, which was published last month.
The 460-page document included the experiences of 5,000 nursing staff from across the UK, with claims that patients are dying in corridors and sometimes going undiscovered for hours.
There were also accounts of sick people being left to soil themselves and patients left to sit in chairs for days due to a lack of beds.
Reacting to the findings of the survey, one nurse in the East of England said: “My hospital seems to be in a permanent crisis with not enough beds, resorting to using escalation areas all year round now.
“Beds in corridors, window bays, office spaces, busy walkways. No washing or toilet facilities, no nurse call buttons, no night lights. No dignified privacy of a curtain whilst they are feeling unwell.
“Caring for vulnerable, sick people in inappropriate places has become all too normalised and nurses in my department are leaving as they feel they can’t give the level of care they want to.”
Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said the findings “make it clear that patients and the public will not accept any further delays in tackling the corridor care crisis”.
“No-one should be treated in a space without basic dignity, privacy, or access to essential medical equipment, yet this is the daily reality for many,” she added.
“Behind each statistic is a person in distress, a family fearing for their loved one’s safety, and NHS staff struggling to deliver the quality of care they are trained to provide.
“We need urgent investment in community, primary care and hospital capacity, robust staffing plans, and full transparency through mandatory reporting. The longer we wait, the more lives will be put at risk. Patients deserve better, and they are right to demand real action.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “It is shocking that corridor care has become a feature of the broken NHS this government inherited, but we are determined to change this.
“We are investing £26 billion in the NHS and social care over the next two years, vaccinating more people against flu than this time last year, and ended the resident doctor strikes so staff are on the frontline during winter.
“We have given clear guidance to the NHS to go back to basics and focus on the fundamentals, so patients are seen promptly in A&E, waiting times are cut, and more people get a GP appointment.”