Corridor care an 'unfortunate reality' as Nottingham hospitals brace for winter pressures

A leading doctor at Nottingham's hospitals says patients being treated on corridors will be an "unfortunate reality" as they brace for brutal demands over the winter. Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH), which runs the Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital, are coming up to their busiest time of the year.

Service pressures generally increase drastically during the winter, something which is mirrored nationally, and is driven by factors such as cold weather, seasonal illnesses and challenges with discharging patients. Last winter, the Nottinghamshire NHS system declared a critical incident and corridor care was common practice across the city's hospitals.

NUH said it had prepared for this year by opening dozens of new beds, changing the use of some clinical space and improving its Same Day Emergency Care service. Deputy medical director Mark Simmonds said the winter would once again prove a challenge, with "several factors" being a worry.

"We've been extraordinarily busy all year and we're wanting to maintain our planned care programme. There are factors that we can't really be sure of at this stage, such as the impact of flu and Covid on the demands coming through the front door," he said.

"We don't have lots of empty beds to suddenly open. The biggest concern we currently have is maintaining that staffing for the entire hospital and especially for those wards that we're opening for winter."

Dr Simmonds said corridor care would remain an "unfortunate reality" during the winter, but pointed out it was sometimes needed to balance the risk across the system. "There's also the fact that we're not just a hospital in isolation," he said.

"There is the ambulance service, if ambulances can't get in our front door, then there is a backlog into the community, and that is a risk to our population." The doctor also warned of lengthy waits for patients who attend A&E during the period, saying they could be up to 12 hours.

The latest A&E figures from the trust show 496 patients waited for more than 12 hours in September, while 831 waited more than four hours. "There may be substantial delays if you come in with a minor illness or injury, because we are focusing our staff on on people who are who you need the most," said Dr Simmonds.

"So just be aware that there may be delays and but we are doing our absolute very best, and our staff are doing their very best to do what we can for the population." Just over 50 new beds have been opened across the QMC and City Hospital to help mitigate the pressures.

Dr Simmonds said the public could also do their bit by "doing their very best to stay well and to to follow the advice in in terms of getting vaccinations and using the NHS in the best way that they possibly can". He urged families of patients to help "try and ensure that the patient's discharge is as efficient and effective as possible".

Dr Simmonds added: “We have a well-established approach to our winter planning at NUH. We anticipate that this is going to be a difficult winter but we hope to mitigate the impact and ensure a more positive experience and better outcome for our patients."