Pledge to get rid of NHS 'corridor care'

HUNDREDS of thousands fewer patients will face long A&E waits, the Government has pledged, as it also set out plans to eliminate “corridor care”.

- JANE KIRBY

Almost £450 million will be put into creating better care and more facilities, with an emphasis on caring for people closer to their homes, according to the Department of Health and NHS England. The new Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for England says that by the year-end, with improvement over winter, the Government expects to improve flow through hospitals.

The document said NHS trusts will need to show how, by this winter, systems will “improve flow through hospitals with a particular focus on patients waiting over 12 hours and eliminate corridor care”.

Ministers have also set aims for a minimum 78% of patients who attend A&E (from the current 75%) to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, meaning “over 800,000 people a month will receive more timely care”.

There will also be a focus on seeing more children.