The crisis of corridor care and its impact on nursing and patient safety

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) (2025a) latest report, On the Frontline of the UK's Corridor Care Crisis, paints a stark and deeply troubling picture of the conditions in which nurses are currently working across the NHS. The report reveals that nursing professionals are routinely delivering care in corridors, storage areas, waiting rooms and even unsuitable makeshift spaces such as in cupboards and car parks. The evidence from frontline nurses highlights an unacceptable erosion of patients’ dignity, safety and quality of care.

This growing crisis has been exacerbated by systemic underfunding, chronic workforce shortages, and a failure to reform social care provision. Nursing staff, already stretched beyond capacity, are bearing the brunt of these failures. As Professor Nicola Ranger, general secretary and chief executive of the RCN, emphasises in the report (RCN, 2025a) this is not just a failure of policy but a failure of political will. The normalisation of corridor care signifies a dangerous tipping point in the NHS's ability to provide safe, effective and humane care.