Hospital patients in Wales enduring 'shocking' corridor care as 'national emergency' declared

• Jackie Davies, chair of Royal College of Nursing Wales board, said the situation is 'absolutely shocking'.

Patients in Wales who are being treated in hospital corridors are experiencing "absolutely shocking" conditions, according to the nurses' union which has declared a "national emergency" in the NHS, warning that patients are dying in hospital corridors.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) - the UK's nursing union - revealed patients are being left without access to oxygen and enduring intimate examinations in inappropriate crowded areas.

At the start of the union’s annual conference in Newport, acting general secretary Professor Nicola Ranger will use her keynote speech to declare a national emergency, releasing a new report on clinical care in inappropriate areas.

The RCN is calling for mandatory reporting of patients cared for in corridors to show the extent of hospital overcrowding.

Jackie Davies, chair of Royal College of Nursing Wales board, said: "Nearly half of our members have told us that they intend to leave the profession.

"Another thing that our members are telling us about is this corridor care, absolutely shocking, patients on trollies, but not just on trollies in ED, extra beds being placed in wards that are already full to capacity, with a nursing deficit so they still aren't fully resourced each shift.

"And if you're an additional patient, they call it 'boarding'. You don't have any privacy or dignity, you don't have curtains around you. You don't even have your own oxygen supply, a cupboard to put your belongings in.

"Half of the time these beds are placed in front of fire escapes, or slap bang in the middle of other beds, so it's completely unacceptable."

The Welsh Government says it recognises that the NHS across the UK remains under pressure, and it is investing £283million in the education and training of healthcare professionals in Wales this year.

Patients are regularly treated on chairs in corridors for extended periods of time, sometimes days, said the RCN.

A survey of almost 11,000 frontline nursing staff across the UK showed how widespread the practice has become, said the RCN.

When asked about their most recent shift, almost two in five respondents reported delivering care in an inappropriate area, such as a corridor.

Almost seven in 10 said the care they delivered in public compromised patient privacy and dignity.

Prof Ranger will tell the 3,000 conference delegates that the situation is a “tragedy” for the nursing profession".

"Our once world-leading services are treating patients in car parks and store cupboards", she will say.

"The elderly are languishing on chairs for hours on end and patients are dying in corridors.

"The horror of this situation cannot be understated. It is a national emergency for patient safety and today we are raising the alarm.

"This is about honesty and accountability.

"Care being delivered in front of a fire exit isn’t care.

"Signing ‘do not resuscitate’ orders in a corridor isn’t care.

“Receiving a cancer diagnosis in a public area isn’t care. It’s a nightmare for all involved.

"We need to call it out as nursing staff, and health leaders and ministers need to take responsibility."

Prof Ranger will say: “Treating patients in corridors used to be an exceptional circumstance. Now it is a regular occurrence and a symptom of a system in crisis.

"We are right to be angry that this once abnormal practice has become normalised.”

The Welsh Government, which oversees health and social care in Wales, says it's investing £283million in the education and training of healthcare professionals in Wales this year.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "We recognise that the NHS across the UK remains under pressure, and we are incredibly grateful to NHS staff for the vital work they do.

"Despite the difficult financial situation, we have sought to protect vital NHS services providing record levels of investment.

"We have invested an extra £450million for the NHS in addition to the £425million which was announced in October for the remainder of this financial year. This means that NHS in Wales will receive more than a 4% increase for this year compared to less than 1% in England.

"We are also continuing to invest in the NHS workforce and this year are investing £281million to increase the number of training places to ensure the NHS has the workforce it needs."

The Welsh Conservatives say they would boost staff numbers with a tuition fee refund.

Welsh Conservatives' shadow health minister Sam Rowlands MS said: "The RCN are right to expect more from the Labour Welsh Government, the only government in the UK to have ever cut a health budget.

"After 25 years of underfunding, Labour-run Wales has the longest NHS waiting lists in the UK, putting serious pressure on nurses.

"The Welsh Conservatives would enact a substantial workforce plan to boost recruitment and retention with a tuition fee refund at its heart to end the crisis in the health service."

Plaid Cymru says it would ensure nurses have greater flexibility to train and improve work life balance.

Plaid Cymru health spokesperson Mabon ap Gwynfor MS said: "The pressures faced by nurses are immense.

"Patient safety is at stake due to a lack of resources. Widespread retention issues and rock bottom morale is compromising the safe provision of care. It is simply unsustainable.

"The problems in our health service run deep. Nurses need greater flexibility in their contracts, to allow them to train during their working hours and improve their work life balance, and a Plaid Cymru government would ensure this as a minimum.

"However, the problems that our nurses are dealing with are also the consequence of a wider NHS crisis, with both ends of the healthcare journey, namely primary care at the beginning of the journey and social care at the other end.

"We would take immediate action to address the problems in primary care by training and recruiting more doctors and restoring the percentage of NHS spend to primary care, and we would increase care workers pay by £1 above the real living wage meaning that the average care worker in Wales would receive £1,872 more a year, showing that we value their work. The message is clear, if you care for our loved ones then Plaid Cymru will care for you."

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