Hospital advert for £70k elderly care doctor marks start of NHS trial in corridor wait crackdown

26 February 2025, 20:45 | Updated: 27 February 2025, 01:18

An NHS trust in Sussex is recruiting a full-time doctor as part of a trial to look after elderly patients coming into A&E - as it highlighted that corridor care has become ‘normalised’.

The advertised role has been branded “frightening and worrying indictment of how bad things have become” by some health leaders, with patients regularly seen spilling into hospital corridors as wards reach capacity.

It follows a similar advert for a nursing position published by North London's Whittington Hospital in January, which described the role as "corridor care".

However, the new role, based at Royal Sussex County Hospital (RSCH) in Brighton, is slightly different, marking the start of a trial which aims to stop frail, older people from getting into corridors in the first place.

The role, according to the advert, has a salary band of between £49,909 to £70,425 for the successful candidate.

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In the job description, as seen by The Times, the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust describes corridor care as “normalised” around the country, warning this increases the risk of patients dying.

The job description says they will provide “current, urgent clinical and educational need” for better standards of corridor care.

They will also be responsible for “implementing changes in the corridor”, the posting adds.

The position, however, isn't a hands-on 'corridor doctor' role, with the NHS Trust telling LBC the position is helping the health system to develop new services that allow elderly patients to be moved rapidly to the best suited place for them.

They clarified that unlike many elderly patients, who find themselves waiting in corridors waiting to be discharged from A&E, the new role will assess the elderly in corridors coming into A&E.

The fellowship is targeted at doctors with several years of experience in the NHS. It is thought to be the first time an NHS trust has recruited a doctor with a specific focus on corridor care.

The advert, posted on the NHS jobs website on Tuesday, reads: “Caring for older people in the corridor of the emergency department is now normal in our hospital.

"This is replicated in trusts across the country. Our clinical experience and the evidence tells us that long periods in corridors lead to increased morbidity and mortality, especially for older people with frailty."

When approached by LBC, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “It is shocking that corridor care has become a feature of our NHS. Despite the best efforts of staff, patients are receiving unacceptable standards of treatment.

"This government has taken decisive action over the past six months to ease pressure on the NHS, including ending the resident doctor strikes so staff are on the frontline, not the picket line for the first winter in three years, and we are providing funding to reduce avoidable admissions to hospital and delayed discharges.

“We will deliver reform and investment through our Plan for Change so the NHS is there for us when we need it, once again.”

It comes as Dr Adrian Boyle, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, told The Times: “Let me be clear from the off, this is not about one job advert or blaming the trust who issued it. The fact that such a role could even be considered necessary is a frightening and worrying indictment of how bad things have become.

“Corridor care is a very dangerous and very shameful reality and not just during winter. To end this dangerous situation, we need more available hospital beds so we can admit the people who need inpatient care and to tackle this issue of delayed discharges.”

This week, a damning new poll by the Royal College of Physicians' (RCP) revealed almost four in five NHS doctors have been forced to provide care in the likes of corridors, chairs and waiting rooms in the past month.

Of the 961 medics surveyed across the UK, 78% had provided care in a temporary environment in the past month.

Medics told the RCP the issue is threatening patient safety, privacy and dignity, with one labelling corridor care a “travesty”.

Dr John Dean, clinical vice president at the RCP, said: “These findings confirm what doctors across the NHS already know – corridor care is becoming routine, and that is simply unacceptable.

“Treating patients in inappropriate spaces compromises their dignity, safety, and quality of care, while also placing enormous strain on staff.“No doctor should have to resuscitate a patient in a blocked corridor or watch patients spend their final hours in undignified conditions.”

The poll comes after a "harrowing" report published by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in January, which said patients are dying in corridors and sometimes going undiscovered for hours while sick people are being left to soil themselves.

It surveyed more than 5,000 UK nurses and published evidence of their experiences over the hectic winter.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting pledged to “consign corridor care to the history books”, but warned that this would take years.

Last month, the Whittington Hospital in Archway, North London, posted adverts calling for nurses to take on 12-hour “corridor care” shifts.

LBC has also approached University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust for comment.