NHS England has published a new definition of corridor care to standardise reporting across the NHS.
Under the guidance, a patient will be counted as having received corridor care if they have spent 45 minutes or more receiving care in an inappropriate area, such as in an emergency department corridor or outside a bed space on a ward.
Trusts are now required to collect data on these incidents, with monthly publication starting in May 2026 to improve transparency.
RCN’s campaigning
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the definition and reporting commitments mark progress after sustained campaigning.
“The brave testimony of nursing staff and determined campaigning of the RCN-led coalition has resulted in these commitments,” said RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor.
“The new definition of corridor care, while by no means perfect and which has taken far too long to develop, will move us closer to determining the scale of this [corridor care] crisis,” said Nicola Ranger, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor.
The college notes that trust leaders now have clearer expectations around recording and reporting corridor care as an organisational risk.
However, it also called for greater investment and system‑wide efforts to address the underlying pressures that force patients into inappropriate spaces.
Ending the normalisation of corridor care
Previous surveys found a significant number of clinicians routinely deliver care outside clinical settings, with some describing it as normalised in parts of the NHS.
The new definition builds on these calls by providing consistent, measurable criteria, which NHS England and partners hope will give a clearer picture of how often corridor care occurs and where targeted improvement efforts are needed.
Alongside definition and data collection requirements, NHS guidance includes steps to improve urgent care pathways and share best practice across trusts.
The NHS will be monitoring how factors such as staffing levels, discharge processes, urgent care pathways, and social care capacity, may be driving pressure on beds and forcing patients into unsuitable spaces.