THE RCN (Royal College of Nursing) and the British Medical Association (BMA) in Wales have joined forces to address the alarming state of corridor care in Welsh hospitals and healthcare services.
On Tuesday (29 April), they launched a joint petition urging the Welsh Government to take immediate action to end the practice of treating patients in corridors, chairs, waiting areas and all other inappropriate areas.
Both unions are asking the public to sign the petition after nurses and doctors have reported being forced to treat patients in inappropriate and undignified environments putting them at risk of significant harm.
Reports from the RCN and members of BMA Cymru Wales are backed up by a recent survey from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine which showed that in the first quarter of 2025, every Accident and Emergency Department in Wales recorded seeing patients in unsafe, inappropriate spaces with almost half of patients waiting for an inpatient bed.
‘The petition calls on the Welsh Government to take urgent action to:
‘Begin recording and reporting on corridor care in Wales, starting by making it a ‘never event’ for patients to receive care in chairs for more than 24 hours.
‘Pause reductions in NHS Wales hospital beds. Nationally review capacity and deliver a clear, costed workforce plan to ensure hospitals and wider care settings can meet future demand.
‘Invest in community-based care by:
‘Increasing the number of District Nurses (and nurses with a community nursing master’s degree) back to, and above, 2010 levels to meet demand.
‘Restoring the proportion of NHS Wales funding in general practice to historic levels, with aspirations to increase, so that we train, recruit and retain enough GPs to move toward the OECD average number of GPs per 1,000 people.
‘Prioritise prevention and early intervention. Sustainable emergency care needs a strong focus on population health and early diagnosis to reduce avoidable crises.
‘The launch of the petition was prompted by an overwhelming number of testimonies from doctors and nurses highlighting the dire consequences of corridor care.
‘These include frail, elderly patients waiting days in chairs, patients in waiting areas, corridors and by nursing stations with no privacy resulting in missed diagnoses, delayed treatment, disorientation and deconditioning.’
Helen Whyley, Executive Director of RCN Wales said: ‘We are beyond breaking point. I have travelled across Wales and witnessed people in pain, confused and frightened, with no privacy, no dignity, and no proper care environment.
‘Treating patients in corridors and other inappropriate areas is not nursing – it is crisis management in a system that is failing.
‘Corridor care is unsafe, undignified, and unacceptable. The Welsh Government must act now – working with health unions and NHS leaders – to implement urgent and meaningful changes.
‘Every day that we delay, more patients suffer. Patients deserve better. Nurses deserve better. Wales deserves better.’
Stephen Kelly, chair of the BMA’s Welsh Consultants Committee said: ‘When a patient is not placed in a bed space there’s a chance something vital may be missed, there’s no access to monitoring equipment and no privacy to carry out certain procedures.
‘This is dangerous and is putting patients’ lives at risk, we urge the Welsh Government to work with us to put a stop to this practice.
‘We’re extremely concerned that the ‘normalising’ of seeing patients in completely inappropriate spaces will mean that patients come to significant harm which is hugely distressing for patients but also NHS staff.
‘This affects everyone in Wales, and we urge people to sign the petition and help us to put an end to corridor care.’
The RCN and the BMA are urging the public to support their petition to end corridor care. By signing the petition, individuals can help pressure the Welsh Government to take urgent steps to ensure that every patient is treated with dignity and given the best chance to survive and recover.
Meanwhile, GP leaders have warned a funding gap must be urgently addressed to save general practice in Scotland – and the future of the NHS.
BMA Scotland has found the funding practices receive for every patient has been eroded year after year against inflation since 2008. In all, eroded funding streams and new cost pressures have created a shortfall in practice funding of 22.8 per cent.
The BMA believe it will require £290m to deliver full funding restoration, which must first stabilise General Practice and then grow the GP workforce to improve access and services for patients.
The current funding gap is having a huge impact on the provision of services for patients, at a time when demand for GPs is rising as the population continues to age, and with more disease prevalence and more treatment options than ever before.
BMA Scotland has launched a new campaign which will include posters in GP surgeries explaining the issues to help patients understand why they may be struggling to get the service or access they want and need.
Patients are also being urged to ‘Stand with your Surgery’ and back the call for general practice to receive more funding, so that surgeries are better able to serve their communities.
Iain Morrison, chair of BMA Scottish general practitioners committee, said: ‘The funding we receive for every patient we care for has been eroded year after year against inflation since 2008. In all, eroded funding streams and new cost pressures have created a shortfall in practice funding of 22.8 per cent when inflation is taken into account.
‘This means practices simply do not have the resources required to employ all the staff they need, and in particular GPs, at a time when demand is going up at a rapid rate. We know that access to GPs is undeniably a real issue and patients can struggle to get an appointment at their surgery in a timely manner.
‘We share the frustration that many patients are currently feeling and we want to be able to deliver a service that we are proud of, rather than constantly apologising for.
‘This can only be achieved if urgent action is taken to address a £290m funding gap, around 1 per cent of the Scottish NHS budget, to stabilise General Practice and begin the process of giving our patients the access they need and deserve.
‘Unless this is delivered, it will leave general practice at risk of failing. We provide 90 per cent of patient contact and without general practice, the NHS simply cannot survive.’
Dr Morrison said this was just a starting point and there was the opportunity for a ‘revolution’ in healthcare in Scotland if the full potential of General Practice was recognised.
He said: ‘There is currently only one GP in Scotland for every 1,735 people, when that used to be every 1,515 people.
‘It is clear we desperately need more GPs in Scotland. But we have seen a reduction in the number of WTE (whole-time equivalent) GPs despite the Scottish Government’s promise to increase the number of GPs working in Scotland by at least 800 by 2027.
‘We need to be far more ambitious and work towards a commitment of one WTE GP for every 1,000 people, which would allow us to deliver far more in terms of preventative health and a more individualised health experience.
‘There is huge potential for a revolution in how we can approach healthcare in Scotland by getting everyone to live the healthiest life they can – but this can only be realised if GPs are given the necessary resources and support.’
Dr Morrison said BMA Scotland is continuing to press the Scottish Government to urgently address the years of underfunding for General Practice – but warned time is running out.
He said: ‘If the government does not act, then we really do risk the end of general practice in Scotland as we know it, and we cannot allow that to happen.
‘We have put the Scottish government on notice that the current direction of travel is leading us towards formal dispute, which the profession has told us is ultimately something they are prepared to do, if it is needed, to save General Practice, and properly support the patients we care for in communities up and down Scotland.
‘This would be a very last resort and we want to work at pace with government and do all we can to avoid going down that path. The rhetoric for the government on this suggests they are listening, but action is now required.’
