Emergency departments across the UK are grappling with an unprecedented crisis, leaving both staff and patients in dire circumstances.
Let me take you behind the scenes of what a day looks like for nurses like me, working tirelessly in this overwhelming environment.
Overcrowded and Overwhelmed
When I first encountered one of our patients—a man brought in with suspected heart problems—he was parked in a wheelchair in a makeshift space meant for equipment storage.
He should have been connected to a monitor in a proper cubicle, but like so many others, he was stuck in a corridor packed to capacity.
That corridor was lined with patients in wheelchairs, on trolleys, or even sitting on waiting room chairs, surrounded by anxious relatives.
When the man in the wheelchair suffered a cardiac arrest, there was no space for the medical team to perform CPR.
Tragically, he passed away right there as his wife pleaded for help.
Corridor Nursing: The Grim New Normal
Corridor nursing, once an extreme last resort, has now become an everyday reality.
Patients die on trolleys or in chairs.
Mental health patients, frightened dementia sufferers, and those in need of antenatal care endure distressing conditions.
In some hospitals, there are even job listings for “corridor care nurses,” a grim testament to how normalized this crisis has become.
Back when I started nursing 25 years ago, emergency departments were nothing like this.
Late-night shifts were quiet, with only a few patients left. Now, chaos reigns 24/7.
The Reality of Overcrowding
To understand the pressure, consider this: my hospital has capacity for 60 patients in the emergency department.
Recently, there were 167 patients waiting to be treated—nearly three times the limit.
The overflow spills into a long, drafty corridor that becomes a maze of trolleys, chairs, and people.
Patients on IV drips or oxygen tanks are lined up next to relatives and the “walking wounded.
Staff members navigate this human obstacle course while addressing constant requests for help.
For us, working in the corridor feels like running a gauntlet.
Safety on the Line
Corridor care isn’t just uncomfortable—it’s unsafe.
Corridors lack essential equipment like oxygen pipelines, monitors, and call bells.
Instead, we rely on portable equipment like oxygen cylinders, which often run out.
Patients have been left without oxygen or other life-saving care simply because resources are stretched too thin.
One day, I noticed a man on a corridor trolley looking particularly unwell.
His oxygen tank was empty, but no one had realized it.
I managed to replace it just in time, but it was a close call—another hour and the outcome might have been fatal.
A Battle for Privacy and Dignity
Beyond the logistical nightmare, the lack of privacy is one of the hardest parts of corridor nursing.
Patients undergo medical procedures in full view of others, often enduring deeply personal moments, like soiling themselves, without any dignity.
On one occasion, a patient’s catheter overflowed, leaving her soaked in urine for hours because there was no capacity to manage her care properly.
It’s moments like these that stay with you and highlight how far the system has deteriorated.
A Patient’s Perspective
The chaos isn’t just exhausting for staff—it’s terrifying for patients.
An 18-year-old rugby player I know waited all night in an overcrowded A&E, sitting on a set of old weighing scales.
He later admitted he felt so unsafe he considered leaving.
If a young, healthy athlete feels scared in this environment, imagine how vulnerable elderly or frail patients must feel.
One man, after waiting 12 hours on a trolley, summed it up perfectly: “This place is a living hell.”
What’s Next?
The current state of emergency departments isn’t sustainable.
Nurses are stretched thin, and mistakes feel inevitable under these conditions.
Patients deserve better than to receive care in hallways or on trolleys, and staff shouldn’t have to work in an environment where basic safety and dignity are impossible to maintain.
It’s time for urgent reforms. Lives depend on it.
This article was published on TDPel Media. Thanks for reading!
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