Commenting on the Age UK report on corridor care, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Professor Nicola Ranger, said:
“These devastating findings mirror the testimony of nursing staff about the lack of dignity afforded to the elderly. No one, let alone those at their most vulnerable, should be forced to receive treatment in corridors and other inappropriate spaces. It is unsafe, utterly demeaning and should be a source of national shame.
“More often than not, these patients shouldn't be in hospital, but a lack of community services and social care provision means there is nowhere else for them to go. Everyone deserves safe and dignified care but the reality is that investment outside of hospitals is crucial if the government is to turn this dire situation around.
““The health secretary has repeatedly said he will be publishing data on corridor care. This cannot wait any longer and ministers must now urgently bring forward a fully funded action plan with a timeline for the eradication of corridor care. The plan has to include investment to boost beds and nurse numbers in hospitals but, crucially, measures to increase capacity and access to services in community and social care, helping to keep people well at home and ease pressures on NHS services. It must mark a turning point.”
ENDS
