Hospital advertises for corridor nurse amid NHS winter crisis
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A hospital in north London has advertised for a corridor nurse, as the NHS grapples with a winter crisis of rising pressures. Recent days have seen more than a dozen hospitals declaring critical incidents as a "quad-demic" of flu, COVID, norovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) all put a strain on the health service's resources.
In north London, Whittington Hospital has recently advertised for registered nurses who can work shifts in their corridors to offer care, when patients overflow from existing rooms. The Sunday Times first reported on the move, describing the role as "corridor care" as others flagged it on social media.
Across the country, hospitals have been forced to place patients in corridors as they run out of space in existing rooms. This comes as, this winter, Whittington Health NHS Trust, which oversees the hospital, has said it has faced "very significant pressure in urgent and emergency care".
In a statement issued to Sky News, it continued: "In these circumstances, we may have to provide care in corridors, as an absolute last resort. "In common with other hospitals, where this is necessary we bring in additional staff on a temporary basis to ensure that care can be delivered as safely and compassionately as possible to patients.
"We have worked with partners across the health and care system to request mutual aid at times of worst pressures, to alleviate the impact and ensure patients get care as quickly and safely as possible this winter. "We apologise to any patient whose care has not met our usual high standards due to the exceptional level of demand and are grateful to all of our hardworking staff for their commitment during this period of extraordinary pressure.".
