Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of corridor care on NHS workforce numbers.

Whilst no assessment has been made, the health and wellbeing of all National Health Service staff is a top priority. NHS organisations have a responsibility to create supportive working environments for staff, ensuring they have the conditions they need to thrive, including access to high quality health and wellbeing support. We recognise that periods of high demand can leave NHS staff feeling overworked and unsupported. The government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, including new staff standards focused on improving retention, flexible working and staff health and wellbeing.

Corridor care refers to care delivered in non-designated clinical areas and is not an acceptable standard of care. We are committed to eliminating corridor care before the end of this Parliament.

On 3 March 2026, NHS England wrote to NHS organisations, including trusts and integrated care boards, setting out a clear definition of corridor care and the additional actions required to eliminate it. This introduction of a clear national definition will enable trusts to collect and report consistent and validated data on corridor care, supporting transparency and system improvement. Subject to data quality, this information will be published monthly on the NHS England website from May 2026.

Where corridor care cannot be avoided, updated national guidance has been issued to ensure patient safety, dignity and privacy are protected and to reduce impacts on patients and staff.