An average of 19 instances of corridor care were recorded every day in Nottingham University Hospitals’ emergency department during July, alongside hundreds of patients facing lengthy A&E waits.
New experimental figures published by NHS England show that Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust recorded 582 instances of corridor care in its emergency department during July 2026.
The daily number ranged from 11 to 29, producing an average of 19 instances each day.
NHS England defines emergency-department corridor care as a patient receiving care for more than 45 minutes in an area that is not ordinarily designated for clinical care.
The measure includes patients receiving treatment or waiting for assessment, admission or transfer. It counts instances rather than individual patients, meaning the same patient could potentially be counted more than once.
A separate daily snapshot showed that an average of 19 adult patients were receiving corridor care elsewhere within Nottingham University Hospitals at 08:00 each day.
The number recorded at the daily snapshot ranged from 11 to 32 adult patients during July.
Across the 31 daily snapshots, there were a combined 588 recorded instances of an adult patient receiving corridor care outside the emergency department.
No paediatric patients were recorded as receiving corridor care when the daily 08:00 snapshots were taken.
The emergency-department and wider hospital figures measure different things and should not be added together. The first records corridor-care instances lasting more than 45 minutes over a full 24-hour period, while the second is a snapshot of patients receiving corridor care at 08:00.
Across England, an average of 2,300 instances of corridor care were recorded in emergency departments each day during July. A further average of 726 patients were receiving corridor care elsewhere in hospitals at the daily snapshot.
Dr Russell Duncan, Vice President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “Our ED teams continue to step up to every new challenge that’s thrown their way, and heatwaves are no exception.
“But as Emergency Departments work harder and patients needing urgent care still end up waiting longer, overcrowding is worsening and it is incredible that we still see little in the way of meaningful action to tackle it.
“A&E congestion is often caused by poor flow through the hospital and social care system resulting in shortages of available inpatient beds, rather than an increase in the number of people arriving at the front door. So, while demand may be at a record high, attributing all of the problems we experience in our Emergency Departments to it is simply wrong. The sooner we improve patient flow through the hospital, the more capacity there will be to manage additional pressures, like this extreme weather.
“It’s positive to hear that NHS England have recognised corridor care as a patient safety priority and that the Health and Social Care Secretary aims to properly plan for summer demands, but everyone in our EDs is worried that the help isn’t coming soon enough.”
Responding to the report by the General Medical Council (GMC), also published today (Thursday 13 August), RCEM Vice President Russell Duncan, said:
“It is completely unacceptable that system pressures are leaving four in ten doctors struggling to provide the level of care they are comfortable delivering and leaving them questioning their sense of purpose.
“It’s no surprise that an overwhelming demand in emergency care and the very real danger of corridor care becoming an accepted part of treatment are noted as contributing factors.
“Teams working across Emergency Medicine are continuing to deliver extraordinary care under extraordinary circumstances. They deserve recognition, support, and a system that works for everyone, patients, relatives and staff.
“Better systems and coordination between teams will always be a very welcome improvement but we can’t afford to wait for a step-by-step approach when we are seeing such detrimental impacts to our patients and our workforce.”
More than 25,000 A&E attendances
Separate NHS England A&E figures show that Nottingham University Hospitals dealt with 25,339 attendances across its emergency-care services during July.
These included:
- 13,359 attendances at a Type 1 major A&E department
- 2,273 attendances at a Type 2 department
- 9,707 attendances at other emergency departments
Of the patients attending the trust’s major Type 1 A&E department, 5,976 were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
This represented 44.7 per cent of major A&E patients, meaning 7,383 people waited longer than four hours.
Across all emergency-department types operated by or attributed to the trust, 17,007 of 25,339 attendances were completed within four hours, a rate of 67.1 per cent.
The equivalent figure across England was 75.4 per cent in July. The long-standing NHS Constitution standard is for at least 95 per cent of patients to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
Hundreds faced 12-hour admission delays
The figures also show that 771 patients at Nottingham University Hospitals waited more than 12 hours for a hospital bed after clinicians had decided to admit them.
A further 141 patients waited between four and 12 hours from the decision to admit until admission.
The trust recorded 9,105 emergency admissions during July, comprising:
- 3,662 admissions through a Type 1 A&E department
- 1,197 admissions through other A&E departments
- 4,246 other emergency admissions
Four-hour performance improves but remains below last year
Major A&E attendances increased from 12,935 in June to 13,359 in July, a rise of 424, or 3.3 per cent.
The proportion of major A&E patients dealt with within four hours improved from 43.1 per cent in June to 44.7 per cent in July.
Twelve-hour admission delays fell from 1,067 in June to 771 in July. This was a reduction of 296 patients, or 27.7 per cent.
The number waiting between four and 12 hours after the decision to admit also fell, from 155 to 141.
Total emergency admissions increased from 8,857 in June to 9,105 in July — a rise of 248, or 2.8 per cent.
However, performance was worse than in July 2025, when 47.3 per cent of major A&E patients were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
The number of patients facing a wait of more than 12 hours after the decision to admit increased from 467 in July 2025 to 771 in July 2026. This represented an annual rise of 304 patients, or 65.1 per cent.
NHS England said its corridor-care statistics are a new and experimental collection and should be treated as “immature”.
It said the information had been gathered rapidly with limited validation, while reporting guidance might not yet be applied consistently by every trust.
The July corridor-care figures are provisional and can be revised within 14 days of the original submission.
