Commenting on the latest NHS performance data released today (11 July), Dr Tim Cooksley, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “Degrading and harmful corridor care in urgent and emergency services has received insufficient attention during the election period. Thousands of patients are being irreversibly harmed every month. This is not just “broken”: it is a national emergency.
“Focus on the four-hour performance and ambulance turnaround times is important. However, the daily appalling experience of patients and staff in acute care is reflected in the enormous and growing number of patients waiting more than 12 hours for a bed.
“These are vulnerable acute medical patients with conditions such as cancer and heart disease, often older, who are being subjected to degrading corridor care and inevitable harm despite the best efforts of staff.
“The fundamental problems of insufficient workforce and capacity continue to dominate. These need long term investment alongside the essential transformation changes outlined in position papers by colleges and specialist societies.
“There is no short-term exit from this crisis and “change” is required. Hard decisions and investment lie at the heart of the transformation that patients and staff so desperately need.
“Without that the only change will be worse and a continued spiral of decline resulting in the premature death of large numbers of people.”