‘More to do’ on cutting out corridor care in Shropshire hospitals
Record emergency department attendances have piled pressure on beds across the county's hospitals
Shropshire hospital leaders have apologised to patients who have recently received part of their care in corridors as they say there is ‘more to do’ on the subject.
During recent heatwaves staff at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) have coped with the highest ever number of emergency department attendances, which has put pressure on beds.
Chiefs at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) say they have ‘more to do’ but are committed to ‘accelerating our progress’ to eliminated the practice.
Figures presented to a SaTH board meeting earlier this month but not discussed showed corridor care in SaTH emergency departments jumping to an average of 24 each day in May.
Government provisional figures showed this rose to a daily average of 29 in June and 33 in July, with actual daily numbers in emergency departments hitting as high as 47 in July.
Ned Hobbs, SaTH’s group chief operating officer said: “First and foremost we apologise to those patients who have received part of their care outside of designated bed and cubicle spaces.
“In July, the number of emergency department attendances was our highest on record, partly due to the heatwave.
“As a result, we have seen an increase in the number of patients receiving part of their care outside of designated cubicle spaces in our Emergency Departments in the last two months.”
Chiefs say the number of patients being cared for at hospital in patient areas has been significantly reduced.
Hobbs added: “We have delivered a significant reduction in use of corridor spaces on inpatient wards, as we recognise that these areas are not an ideal environment to maintain the best privacy and dignity for our patients.
“We recognise we have much more to do and have the next phase of our major Urgent & Emergency Care improvement programme underway to further reduce waiting times this year.
“We are committed to accelerating our progress as we want to improve access to care and ensure an improved experience for everyone.”
Hospital chiefs say considerable progress has been made to improve quality, dignity and experience of care in urgent and emergency care.
They have eliminated use of the main corridor at PRH and the X-Ray Corridor at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to care for emergency department patients.
They have also eliminated use of other areas at RSH and PRH, including corridor care for acute medical patients and the use of the portable cabin at PRH for 24/7 overnight care.
Health campaigner David Sandbach says not discussing corridor care was an “unfortunate error of omission during the meeting given the importance the government has placed on the elimination of corridor care.
“There is no reason for people to endure the indignity of corridor care whilst a patient at SaTH.”