Senior doctor warns corridor care hides emergency department safety risks

The term corridor care is hiding the true scale of the crisis in National Health Service hospitals, according to a report published by Medical Xpress. Senior cardiologist Asif Qasim wrote in The BMJ on October 28, 2026, that the phrase has become a convenient label that masks normalized safety risks and long emergency room waits. [1]

Medical Xpress reported that corridor care describes the practice of treating patients in hospital hallways, reception spaces, or other areas that lack clinical staffing and design. Dr Qasim stated that this practice conceals a profound deterioration in NHS patient safety. [1]

Official figures cited by Medical Xpress show that 2.4 million emergency patients presented to hospitals in England in September 2026. Only 74 percent of those patients were admitted, transferred, or discharged within the target timeframe of four hours. [1]