The Chief Nursing Officer at the NHS trust operating Salford Royal Hospital said action continues to be taken after it was revealed that 42 patients a day are cared for in corridors or makeshift treatment areas across its sites.
There were 1,292 instances of a patient receiving corridor care in May for more than 45 minutes at hospital A&E departments run by Northern Care Alliance, NHS figures published on Thursday showed.
The average number of patients receiving corridor care from the trust each day fell by 14 from the previous month.
A patient is classed as receiving corridor care when treatment does not take place in a clinically appropriate and safe setting. The criteria for such settings include privacy, access to food, water and toilets, and the ability to turn off lights and reduce noise to allow sleep.
Northern Care Alliance controls four Greater Manchester hospitals in Salford, Oldham, Bury and Rochdale and serves one million people.
Their Chief Nursing Officer, Juliette Cosgrove, reaffirmed to Salford Now that the organisation is working to improve the ease with which patients receive care in the right place.
“Our priority is delivering safe, high‑quality, compassionate care,” she said. Due to high demand, we sometimes use all available space to ensure patients are assessed and treated safely.
“We don’t want to be looking after our patients on corridors, and we are taking action to improve flow through our hospitals.
“Alongside improvements within our Emergency Department including stronger front-door triage, expanded Same Day Emergency Care and better use of Urgent Treatment Centres and Virtual Wards, we are focused on improving patient flow.”
The Northern Care Alliance has the 13th highest number of patients receiving corridor care, according to the survey of 162 trusts.
Ms Cosgrove noted that the trust is in the process of launching a new programme to get patients assessed, treated and discharged more efficiently.
“We are launching Safer Sooner, a clinically led programme to strengthen discharge processes, improve ward and board rounds, and better manage patients’ expectations around going home. This is central to improving flow and supporting more timely care.
“Working closely with system partners, we are already seeing improvements in our four-hour performance.”
These figures cover patients who are being treated within a ward but not in a designated bed space and are based on a snapshot of patient numbers at 8am each morning.
They have been published as the number of patients in England being cared for in hospital corridors or makeshift areas has remained above 3,000 a day for the second month in a row, as the NHS experiences a “summer surge”.
Health officials said there has been a record 2.5 million A&E attendances last month amid two heatwaves.
Health Secretary Yvette Cooper warned the health service must start planning for summer pressures in the same way as winter.
However, the data shows overall waiting times for treatment fell slightly in June after rising for two months in a row.
Ms Cooper thanked NHS staff for “their extraordinary efforts over this hugely challenging summer”.
She said: “Despite the extreme heat and record demand that NHS staff have faced, more than three quarters of patients were seen within four hours in A&E, a record 2.65 million diagnostic tests and checks were carried out in a single month, and the waiting list has fallen in the month of June for the first time since 2011.
“But today’s figures also show how much of an additional burden is placed on the NHS during periods of extreme heat, and I have made clear that we must start planning for summer pressures in the NHS in the same way we do for winter.
“That’s why I’m working closely with NHS leaders to put those plans in place, and ensure that our staffing, beds and emergency services are prepared for the demand we know is likely to come, and that our health service can keep delivering for patients, no matter the weather.”
