UK: "Patients are dying in the corridors of overcrowded hospitals"
British hospitals are so overcrowded that patients are dying in corridors, while others are treated in restrooms or emergency parking lots, warns the main nursing union.
"Patients are being deprived of their dignity, and their lives are being put at risk," said the General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), who added that the testimonies collected should serve as a "wake-up call". "Corridor-care" or "chair-care" are becoming normalized, he warned, questioning the hospital system's ability to cope with the winter in the United Kingdom.
"We are offering nothing better than what you would find in a developing country" - a nurse said
Testimonies were collected from 5,000 nurses. Some accounts report patients suffering cardiac arrest and women miscarrying in hospital corridors. Others are being treated in toilets, bathrooms, changing rooms, or parking lots, putting their lives at risk due to the lack of access to cardiac monitoring, oxygen, or intensive care. The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) stated that in December, a significant part of the 54,207 patients waited more than 12 hours after being admitted and received care in makeshift locations.
"The Thories' fault"
British Health Secretary Wes Streeting, a Labour member, stated in Parliament on Wednesday that the situation was intolerable, blaming "14 years of failure" of the NHS, the public health system, under previous Thories governments. "I cannot promise and will not promise that there will be no patients treated in corridors next year, as it will take time to repair the damage", he admitted. According to the minister, as quoted by The Independent, 53,000 NHS staff members were on sick leave in a single week at the start of the year. He condemned the "unacceptable" care being provided to patients, who are "abandoned" ,treated in makeshift facilities, and left waiting hours for an ambulance.
"Patients have died on hospital beds and chairs in corridors and waiting rooms. All the fundamental principles of care have collapsed. We are offering nothing better than what you would find in a developing country", a nurse told the RCN.