Beyond corridor care: a safer future

The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) investigation report, Patient care in temporary care environments, published on
8 January 2026, confirms that so-called corridor care and the use of temporary escalation spaces are no longer confined to winter pressures but have become a year-round reality for some NHS Trusts. The investigation examines patient safety risks associated with care delivered in environments not originally designed, staffed, or equipped for patient care, including corridors, waiting rooms, and chairs on wards.

The report recognises that temporary care environments are being used regularly due to sustained pressure on patient flow, where demand exceeds capacity. Managing patient safety in these circumstances is a system-wide challenge involving primary care, ambulance services, hospitals, community services, and social care. Their use represents a difficult compromise in patient experience — particularly privacy and dignity — in the interests of sharing risk and maintaining safety under extreme operational pressure.

In response, some hospitals are adapting corridors and other non-clinical spaces by installing plug sockets and emergency call bells in an attempt to reduce immediate safety risks. While frontline staff continue to work tirelessly to provide safe and dignified care in extremely challenging conditions, corridor care exposes deeper, systemic issues across the NHS estate. Non-clinical spaces are being repurposed without full visibility of suitability, risk, or compliance, and patients report distress and trauma following prolonged treatment in corridors and walkways.