Number of patients receiving corridor care at DRI among lowest in country

The number of patients receiving corridor care at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, is among some of the lowest in the country, new figures have revealed.

Corridor care is defined by NHS England as treatment that does not take place in a clinically appropriate and safe setting.

The figure for Doncaster & Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals was just 0.2%.

The criteria used for defining an appropriate setting include at-bed services such as oxygen and call bells; whether privacy can be maintained; access to food, water and toilets; and whether lights can be turned off and noise levels minimised to allow sleep.

If treatment does not meet any one of these criteria, is it classed as corridor care.

It is the first time figures for corridor care have been published by NHS England.

Two sets of data have been released, showing corridor care in hospital emergency departments and also in hospital wards.

The figures cover patients receiving treatment, waiting for assessment, admission or transfer, but do not include ambulance handover delays.

Some 20 NHS trusts accounted for more than half (51.1%) of the average daily number of patients receiving corridor care for more than 45 minutes in emergency departments in May, with London North West University Healthcare having the highest number (100 patients or 4.4% of the total), followed by the Royal Free London (86 or 3.8%) and Lewisham & Greenwich (77 or 3.4%).

For corridor care in hospital wards – which covers patients who are being treated within a ward but not in a designated bed space – 20 NHS trusts accounted for more than two-thirds (68.6%) of the total in May, with North Bristol having the highest number (40 patients or 6.0% of the average daily total), followed by University Hospitals Sussex (39 or 5.8%) and Mid Yorkshire Hospitals (32 or 4.8%).

Both lists are ranked by the average number of patients per day who received corridor care for more than 45 minutes, starting with the highest.