Corridor care is now an NHS ‘crisis in plain sight’ with traumatised patients seeing others die in filthy war-like conditions, a damning report reveals.
Elderly people are among those subjected to degrading treatment, with many left languishing on trolleys in urine-soaked bedding and no privacy.
Age UK said the testimonies it collated expose the ‘truly shocking’ and ‘heartbreaking’ scenes playing out in English hospitals on a daily basis.
Many have been so distressed by previous hospital stays that they are now unwilling to return even if they are in a life-threatening situation, the charity warned.
It raised concerns that poor quality care ‘is now almost expected’ in some A&E departments and expressed fears the situation could get worse as the NHS heads into winter.
One witness likened their experience to a war film, with ‘queues of stretchers and people suffering’.
Others told how they heard or saw people pass away as they waited for their own care.
The charity’s report details the case of a woman who died from a heart attack after being left to wait; a patient who was ‘lost’ after being put on a disused corridor; and a man left hooked up to a drip in a chair for 20 hours, who soiled himself because he was unable to get to the toilet.
Caroline Abrahams, Age UK charity director
It tells of ‘puddles of urine’ on the floor as immobile patients are unable to go to the toilet and of patients being forced to use bedpans in corridors.
One elderly man who cared for his wife in hospital stayed awake for 36 hours straight because he was so concerned about how she would be treated.
Elsewhere, patients have faced extremely long waits, with some waiting days in corridors before being admitted to a ward, the charity said.
It called on the Government to ‘urgently’ tackle corridor care as it warned that older people are disproportionately affected.
Ministers should produce a plan to end long A&E waits and corridor care, with specific deadlines and milestones, it added.
A 79-year-old woman from south London said: ‘The corridors were lined with patients on trolleys, hooked up to drips, some moaning in pain.
‘It reminded me of war films, with queues of stretchers and people suffering.
‘I was next to a man who was clearly unwell. He was alone for some time, then his wife was brought in.
Professor Nicola Ranger, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing
‘They whispered as they had little privacy. Then, after a long silence, she was led away, crying.
‘I’m certain he died. And he died right next to me.’
A grieving widow told the charity: ‘My very ill late husband, with a drip attached, was put in a chair… he was desperate to go to the loo and there was no one to take him.
‘He was left with excrement in his pants and was left in this state for over 20 hours. How dreadful he felt – no modesty.’
And another person said: ‘Some people, many elderly, had been there for many hours. Absolutely no dignity. There were puddles of urine on the floor, which meant those poor people were lying in a wet bed.’
According to the latest figures for England, 75 per cent of patients were seen within four hours in A&Es in September.
The number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England from a decision to admit to actually being admitted stood at 44,765 in September, up from 35,909 in August.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK, said: ‘What’s happening to some very ill older people when they come to A&E is a crisis hiding in plain sight which the Government must face up to and take immediate action to resolve.
‘No one should have to spend their final days in a hospital corridor where it’s impossible for the staff to provide good, compassionate care, and it’s truly shocking that this is what is happening to some very old people in some hospitals, today and every day.
‘And as we head into winter, we fear that an already very difficult situation in and around some A&Es will get even worse.’
She added: ‘Corridor care and long A&E waits are like a rot eating away the heart of the NHS, undermining public trust and destroying the ability of committed hospital staff to be able to take pride in a job well done.
‘As a result, we fear that poor quality care in and around some A&E departments is now almost expected – a truly dire situation we must act urgently to turn around.’
Professor Nicola Ranger, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: ‘Corridor care is a moral stain on our health service, and this report is yet more evidence of its devastating consequences.
‘No elderly or vulnerable person should be forced to endure these conditions. It is unsafe, undignified, and unacceptable.
‘Overstretched and understaffed nursing teams work hard every day to deliver the best care, but they face an impossible task.
‘You simply cannot provide good quality care when patients are lining corridors or are pushed into any other available space, no matter how inappropriate.
‘The reality is nursing staff and patients are being set up to fail by a system that simply isn’t working.’
The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.