Nurses sound the alarm

Patients are dying in the corridor in British hospitals

Nurses are sounding the alarm: in the UK, the healthcare system is on the brink of collapse, and care standards can no longer be met in many cases. And according to a report, patients in British hospitals are now dying in the corridor.

 

"The experiences of over 5,000 nurses in the UK show a devastating breakdown in standards of care that routinely results in patients coming to harm," says ntv in a published report based on a survey of nurses from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union.

The survey from the end of December shows that British hospitals are at their limit.

"Patient safety at risk"
Nine out of ten nurses stated that "patient safety is at risk", with two thirds of respondents stating that they had to care for their patients "every day" in "crowded or unsuitable places" - for example in hospital corridors, in converted cupboards or even in parking lots and washrooms. These conditions are "not the exception, but the rule", explained one nurse from the East of England.

The "normalization" of so-called corridor care should be condemned, the report said. "Vulnerable people are being stripped of their dignity and nurses are being denied access to vital equipment," said RCN General Secretary Nicola Ranger. It could be said "categorically" that "patients are dying in this situation".

The RCN had already declared a "national emergency" in June 2024 due to the overcrowding of hospitals in the UK and care in unsuitable locations.

Impact on emergency departments too
The situation in British hospitals is also having an impact on emergency departments. In the last month alone, 54,000 patients had to wait more than twelve hours in ambulances until a hospital bed was available. This is an increase of 23 percent compared to the previous year.

According to the NHS, the UK's national health service, around 96 percent of all hospital beds were occupied last week. This was mainly due to various "winter viruses".