Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the likelihood of Corridor Care in Torbay Hospital this winter following recent changes to service provision announced on 26 October 2026.

No specific assessment has been made by the Department. In Torbay, and across the rest of England, we are working to reduce pressures in emergency departments and end the unacceptable practice of corridor care and I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I provided on 16 July to Question 17438.

NHS England is now publishing corridor care data for the first time to identify where pressures are greatest and deploying expert teams to the most challenged trusts to support improvements in performance. We are also investing in urgent and emergency care capacity, while recognising that there is much more work to do, particularly ahead of winter.

NHS England’s winter planning guidance for 2026/27 requires trusts to implement the Model Emergency Department, Model Acute Pathway and Model Discharge Pathway, with eliminating corridor care treated as a patient safety priority. Trusts must prepare clinically led winter plans based on demand and capacity, with arrangements tested against periods of exceptional pressure.