Left lying in excrement for 20 hours and scenes ‘like war films’: The elderly patients neglected in NHS hospitals
Damning report lays bare ‘corridor care’ NHS crisis
- A report by Age UK has revealed "heartbreaking" incidents of elderly patients receiving undignified "corridor care" in NHS A&E departments across the country.
- The charity documented cases of patients left in their own excrement or urine for hours, some dying, others "lost" or forced to use bedpans in corridors due to lack of space and staff.
- A retired NHS nurse shared her distressing experiences, describing being left in pain for hours in a corridor, feeling unsafe, and comparing the situation to a "third world country".
- Age UK has urged the government to urgently address this "crisis in plain sight", warning that many older people are now afraid to seek emergency care.
- Health minister Karin Smyth acknowledged the "unacceptable" situation, stating the NHS will now measure and publish corridor waiting times, and outlined investments in urgent care centres and ambulances to tackle the problem.