Corridor Care
Lord Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham Excerpts(2 weeks ago)
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Baroness Merron (Lab)
The noble Baroness is right. While we are very mindful of the need to make more progress, sharing best practice is key to how we are improving things across the whole pathway. The majority of corridor care occurs in a small number of trusts, and that is why we are putting in targeted teams to work with those trusts to do exactly what the noble Baroness suggests.
The Lord Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham
My Lords, I pay tribute to the NHS staff who provide vital care under immense pressure. Recent reporting from the Queen’s Medical Centre in my diocese of Southwell and Nottingham has highlighted their compassion and professionalism. Does the Minister agree that the challenge of corridor care is one not only of clinical safety and privacy but of human dignity? Hospital chaplains provide invaluable pastoral and spiritual support to patients and families at moments of vulnerability and distress. What consideration have the Government given to ensuring that access to such support is not diminished when patients are cared for in temporary settings?
Baroness Merron (Lab)
I pay tribute to the service provided by hospital chaplains, because they extend support to those of all faiths and none, and that is crucial. Corridor care is not an acceptable normalisation. We want to end it by the end of the Parliament. I agree that dignity is very much part of it. The guidance given to hospitals is that, in exceptions where there has to be corridor care, they must take account of supporting the patient in the best way possible. For example, that can, of course, include support from hospital chaplains.