RCN Wales says patients are being left in chairs and hospital corridors for hours as England begins releasing national figures

WALES is being urged to begin publishing hospital corridor care data after England released its first national figures exposing the scale of patients being treated in inappropriate spaces.

RCN Wales said the Welsh Government cannot properly tackle unsafe care if it is not routinely measured or publicly reported.

The call follows the publication of corridor care data by NHS England, which RCN Wales said provides a clearer picture of the scale of the issue in English hospitals for the first time.

The union is calling for the Welsh Government to publish monthly corridor care data by health board, agree a national data set, and release the first figures as soon as possible.

‘Unsafe and unacceptable’

Nicola Williams, Executive Director of RCN Wales, said: “Today’s publication of corridor care data in England demonstrates why transparency matters. We cannot tackle a problem we do not fully understand and are not measuring.

“Corridor care is unsafe, undignified and unacceptable. Nurses across Wales have repeatedly raised concerns about patients being treated in inappropriate spaces because of pressures on the health and care system.”

Ms Williams said she had recently visited a number of hospitals in Wales where she saw patients in chairs, on trolleys in corridors, and squeezed into overcrowded areas not designed for patient care.

She said some patients had been there for well over 12 hours.

She added: “There was one consistent feature which was the look of fear in patients’ eyes as they watched the continual movement and activity going on loudly in very close proximity to them.

“These patients were mainly in gowns with no privacy, no dignity, no space and no confidentiality.”

‘Now normalised’

RCN Wales said nurses had reported that corridor care had become normalised in some hospital settings.

Ms Williams said staff were going home after shifts knowing they had not been able to give patients the care they deserved.

She said: “Nurses told me this is now normalised, happens every day and staff cannot care adequately for patients, which is causing harm and distress to patients, and significantly affecting nurses’ morale.”

In the Senedd on Tuesday (June 2), Health and Care Cabinet Secretary Mabon ap Gwynfor described corridor care as an unsafe practice and said tackling it was a priority.

RCN Wales said it welcomed that recognition but said the next step must be proper measurement and public reporting.

Ms Williams said: “Without consistent national and organisation-wide data, it is impossible to establish the true scale of the problem, identify trends, target resources effectively or measure progress over time.”

Call for national reviews

RCN Wales is also calling for the publication of two national reviews into healthcare capacity, alongside policy recommendations for action.

The union said understanding the relationship between capacity pressures and corridor care would be essential if the practice was to be eliminated.

Ms Williams added: “This is not about collecting statistics for their own sake. It is about establishing a baseline against which improvement can be measured and ensuring accountability for delivering safer care for patients.

“Nursing staff have been warning about the dangers of corridor care for years. Patients deserve care delivered in safe and appropriate clinical environments, and staff deserve the resources and capacity needed to provide it.

“The publication of data in England is an important step. Wales must now follow suit and ensure we have the evidence needed to eradicate corridor care for good.”

Ministers say unsuitable homes are worsening health and contributing to delayed hospital discharges across Wales

POOR or unsuitable housing is directly affecting people’s health and placing additional strain on NHS services in Wales, the Welsh Government has admitted, following the publication of a major new report warning of the growing health impacts of inadequate homes.

The warning comes in a new report by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT), which argues that poor housing is worsening physical and mental health, increasing hospital readmissions and adding avoidable pressure to health and social care services.

The report says millions of people across the UK are living in homes that fail to meet their needs, with problems ranging from damp and poor accessibility to unsuitable living environments for older people and those with disabilities or long-term health conditions.

The Welsh Government acknowledged the issue when asked for comment by The Pembrokeshire Herald.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Poor or unsuitable housing directly impacts people’s health and places additional pressure on NHS services.

“Delayed discharges linked to unsuitable housing are a serious concern and we are taking steps to improve patient flow and reduce delays, strengthening joint working between health, social care and housing services so people can leave hospital safely.

“This Welsh Government has been clear that housing is a public health issue, which is why we are aligning action across government, including through dedicated ministerial oversight, to create a healthier population.

“We are also strengthening adaptation services to support independent living and prevent avoidable admissions and are establishing a new national development body to speed up delivery of accessible social homes.”

The RCOT report argues there is little point discharging patients from hospital if they are returning to homes that worsen their condition or fail to meet their needs. It also highlights growing concerns around delayed hospital discharges, accessibility and an ageing population.

In west Wales, Hywel Dda University Health Board said housing and wider living conditions have a significant effect on health outcomes.

James Severs, Executive Director of Allied Health Professions and Health Science at Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “Most of what determines our health and well-being sits beyond the NHS. While healthcare is vital, it is the conditions in which people live, learn, work and age that have the greatest impact on health outcomes. As a Health Board, we recognise that the NHS contributes only a proportion of overall population health, with wider factors such as housing, education, employment and the environment playing a much larger role.

“This is why our strategy for ‘A Healthier Mid and West Wales’ is focused on moving beyond an illness-centred model of care to one that prioritises prevention, early intervention and support in communities. We are committed to working in partnership with local authorities, the third sector and our communities to address these wider determinants of health, reduce inequalities and enable people to live healthier lives, well lived.”

The report states that almost half of adults in Wales are already living with long-term health conditions and warns that failing to address poor housing could place increasing pressure on already stretched services.

The Pembrokeshire Herald has approached Pembrokeshire County Council for comment.

THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING WALES has warned that Wales “cannot afford” to lose newly qualified nurses after the First Minister refused to give a direct guarantee that student nurses would be given jobs in NHS Wales.

The row followed First Minister’s Questions on Tuesday (Jun 9), when Reform Wales leader Dan Thomas MS asked Rhun ap Iorwerth whether he would guarantee jobs for student nurses when they graduate.

Mr Thomas said it was unacceptable for newly qualified nurses, doctors and paramedics to struggle to find work while the NHS remained under pressure.

The First Minister did not give a direct yes or no answer, but said workforce planning was a “core part” of the Welsh Government’s health strategy.

He told the Senedd: “Putting a robust plan in place to make sure that people who have decided to devote themselves to careers in nursing or medicine or the allied health professions is a core part of our delivery of a workforce strategy.

“That is why my Cabinet Minister for Health and Care has already begun the work of ensuring that we are able to support students to have careers within the NHS.”

Following the exchange, RCN Wales Executive Director Nicola Williams said the union welcomed the First Minister’s recognition of the importance of helping nurses build their futures in Wales.

But she said nursing students had invested years of hard work, commitment and personal sacrifice to qualify.

She said: “At a time when Wales continues to face nursing workforce shortages and increasing demand on health services, it is essential that newly registered nurses are able to secure employment and put their skills into practice.

“RCN Wales has consistently raised concerns about reports of graduate nurses struggling to find substantive posts following qualification. This is not only deeply worrying for those individuals, but also represents a missed opportunity for the NHS to retain talented professionals at the beginning of their careers.”

Ms Williams said RCN Wales would seek assurances at a forthcoming workforce summit that a clear and sustainable plan would be developed to support newly registered nurses into employment.

She added: “Wales cannot afford to lose skilled, motivated nurses at the point they enter the profession.”

Mr Thomas said after FMQs: “Our health service is in desperate need of qualified staff. It is unacceptable that newly qualified nurses, doctors and paramedics are being told to find work outside of Wales.

“I was disappointed that the First Minister could not commit to ensuring these hardworking, qualified professionals can move into the frontline roles our NHS so desperately needs to fill.”

The issue comes amid wider concerns about NHS workforce planning in Wales, with unions warning that a failure to create enough entry-level posts risks losing newly trained staff just as services face growing pressure.