Almost 1 in 5 patients in emergency departments in England were cared for on trolleys or chairs in corridors this summer, a new report has found.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Emergency Care said the rise in so-called corridor care left patients feeling “forgotten and vulnerable.”

The report, compiled by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), found that treatment in corridors, waiting rooms, and other unsuitable spaces was not due to clinical need but because there was “nowhere else for these patients to go.”

Between 30 July and 13 August 2025, clinical leads from 58 type 1 emergency departments across England were surveyed about corridor care and the standards patients received.

Patients at Risk for Harm

The report found that 34.5% of respondents reported patients being cared for in ambulances outside their facilities. More than three quarters (78%) said patients were coming to harm due to the quality of care that could be delivered under current conditions.

The RCEM said it was not possible to provide high-quality care in corridors.

“It’s a source of national shame,” said Dr Ian Higginson, president of the RCEM. “It’s distressing, undignified, and it’s putting lives at risk.” 

Record numbers of emergency attendances were seen last year, but the RCEM said overcrowding was primarily driven by system-wide undercapacity.

In 2024, 1.7 million patients waited more than 12 hours in A&E — more than 12 times the number recorded a decade ago. Ambulance handovers were dangerously delayed, with some patients left in vehicles outside hospitals and others brought into overcrowded departments without safe triage. 

Hospital bed occupancy has exceeded the safe threshold of 85% for years, averaging 93.1% in 2025. Nearly 13,000 beds were occupied by patients medically fit for discharge but unable to leave hospital. 

This “exit block” meant patients waited in emergency departments for hours, or even days, receiving care in unsafe and undignified spaces.

Impact on Patients and Staff

The greatest burden fell on older people, those in deprived areas, and patients with mental health conditions — widening existing health inequalities, said Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association.

Financial inefficiencies linked to overcrowding, delayed discharges, and litigation now cost the NHS billions each year.

“Corridor care is a visible symptom of the pressures facing the entire system,” said the RCEM. This created a “bottleneck in hospitals,” with those requiring admission being cared for wherever space could be found. 

‘A Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight’

The RCEM estimated that 16,644 excess deaths occurred in 2024 as a result of long stays before admission, equivalent to 320 lives lost each week.

Patients and families described feeling forgotten, exposed, and vulnerable, while staff reported moral injury and burnout from working in ways that contradicted their professional values. 

Corridor care, the report said, had become a perennial issue — almost expected — eroding public confidence in emergency departments.

Public polling conducted on behalf of the APPG by Ipsos found that 58% of respondents in Great Britain were not confident that their A&E department would provide a timely service. More than a quarter (28%) doubted they would be treated in an appropriate clinical area.

A separate Age UK survey revealed that a third of people said they would be less likely to go to hospital because of the crisis. Over half (53%) said they would feel more anxious if treated there.

“Corridor care and long A&E waits are like a rot eating away the heart of the NHS,” said Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK. “It’s a crisis hiding in plain sight which the government must face up to and take immediate action to resolve.” 

“Patients are being let down,” said Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP, an emergency medicine doctor and chair of the APPG.

Rob Hicks is a retired National Health Service doctor. A well-known TV and radio broadcaster, he has written several books and has regularly contributed to national newspapers, magazines, and online publications. He is based in the United Kingdom.