NHS crisis in Wales – expert warns ‘corridor care’ costing lives

A leading public health expert has issued a stark warning over the state of the NHS in Wales, saying that the system is “failing at all levels” and patients are suffering serious harm as a result.

Professor John Watkins, chair of the BMA’s Welsh public health medicine committee, said so-called ‘corridor care’—where patients are treated in hospital corridors due to a lack of beds—is now widespread across Wales’ emergency departments and is contributing to avoidable deaths.

He described the practice as “endemic” and pointed to a recent Royal College of Emergency Medicine survey showing the scale of the issue. The Royal College of Nursing has also campaigned for its abolition, with backing from the British Medical Association.

In a hard-hitting commentary, Professor Watkins said ambulance response targets for the most urgent calls have not been met in years. He described situations where no ambulance could be sent to critically ill patients due to system-wide pressures.

“On far too many occasions, when I’m dealing with an acutely ill patient in the community, I am not able to get an ambulance,” he said. “My patient falls into the ‘no send’ category. That often leads to undignified, unsafe situations where relatives and I have to carry loved ones into a car to get them to hospital.”

The Welsh Ambulance Service’s chief executive acknowledged recent performance issues but argued that response times may not be the best indicator due to improved care at the scene by paramedics. Professor Watkins disagreed, saying it doesn’t reflect the stark reality for many patients waiting in vain.

He linked the crisis to years of chronic underfunding and a lack of planning around workforce recruitment and social care support, especially for elderly patients.

“There are fewer than half the number of acute hospital beds we had 30 years ago, fewer GPs than a decade ago, and the UK has fewer doctors per head than most developed countries,” he said.

He warned that the separation of health and social care is adding to the crisis. Patients who are medically fit for discharge are staying in hospital because the care system can’t support them at home.

Recent announcements—such as Cardiff University’s decision to close its nursing school—were cited as examples of missed opportunities to address workforce shortages. Watkins argued that Wales should be expanding training capacity, not shrinking it.

Looking ahead, he said politicians in both Westminster and Cardiff Bay face urgent questions about how to fix the NHS.

“Healthcare, social care and wider society are not separate entities that can be compartmentalised,” he said. “The public sector has been cut to the bone.”

He called for more public investment and urged the public to use services responsibly to ease the pressure on a system close to breaking point.

“We need to stop deluding ourselves that we can get more services for less investment,” he said.

“Corridor care is costing lives. We are facing a perfect storm caused by years of underfunding, a lack of strategic planning and a social care system in crisis,” said Professor John Watkins.