The lack of urgency in ending corridor care is simply not acceptable

The Tories were rightly lambasted for overseeing chaos across the NHS that has seen patients not being seen properly or even at all at times.

Labour cannot continue to point fingers at the previous government. It has been in power long enough and the warning signs have been there for some time. The fact that the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) says there has been “insufficient urgency” is sure to leave the Labour Government red-faced.

In fairness to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, he has been one of the frontline ministers who has really rolled his sleeves up and got stuck into reforming the health service. And the RCN has said there has been recognition of the issue by the Government and health leaders.

However, ending corridor care needs to become one of the top priorities in the NHS. Not only is corridor care impractical but it also strips vulnerable patients of their dignity. When they most need to be treated in a humane manner they are made to feel at best a number or at worst an inconvenience.

This also has an impact on staff within the NHS. Corridor care is the most visible representation of the pressures that they are having to operate under. In order to deal with the retention and recruitment crisis in the NHS, health leaders need to get to the causes of it, such as the reliance on corridor care.

Whatever hue of Government, corridor care is simply not acceptable and should never be normalised. Labour must ensure this winter is the last we see of this practice.