Monday 16 December 2024
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has hit back at health service guidance detailing how patients can be ‘safely’ treated in corridors describing it as a “normalisation of the unacceptable and dangerous”.
The RCEM Position Statement on NHS guidance for ‘providing care in temporary escalation spaces’ has been published today – Monday 16 December 2024.
It is the College’s response to guidance from NHS England entitled ‘Principles for providing safe and good quality care in temporary escalation spaces’ which was released in September.
Authored by the College’s Vice President Dr Ian Higginson and President Dr Adrian Boyle the RCEM statement relates to so called ‘corridor care’ which occurs when Emergency Departments become so full patients have to be cared for in unsuitable areas.
It states:
RCEM’s position is that it is not possible to provide safe and good quality care in temporary escalation spaces, such as corridors. Where such spaces are in use it is inevitable that this will be associated with long waits in Emergency Departments. We know that long waits in Emergency Departments are associated with measurable harm to patients. Care will therefore not be safe.
The document references the academic study which shows that extreme long waits in A&E departments before patients are admitted are linked to excess mortality.
RCEM calculates that using this methodology there were more than 14,000 deaths in England linked to ED long stays in 2023.
The document also accuses those who draw up such guidance as being “out of touch” with what is happening in Emergency Departments.
Dr Adrian Boyle, President of The Royal College of Emergency Medicine said: “While we understand why this guidance has been issued, as a College we are concerned that it represents a normalisation of what is an unacceptable and dangerous situation.
“It is not possible to provide truly safe care in environments such as corridors and cupboards.
“It also evidenced a lack of understanding for what has been happening in Emergency Department for years.
“So called ‘corridor care’ is a result of overcrowding, which leads to extended A&E stays that we know contribute to avoidable death – a concept the Prime Minister has said should “always be chilling.”
“We and our members cannot, and will not accept, this situation. Rather than advising how to deal with overcrowding, all effort should be focused on preventing it.”
The call is supported by a recent survey carried out by the College which found 83% of clinical leads that responded said patients were being cared for in corridors in their ED.
The full position statement can be found here.
