It is disheartening to see yet another report highlighting the shocking situation of corridor care and, specifically, the disproportionate effect that this has on older people.
Today’s report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Emergency Care shows that the older someone is, the more likely they are to face long waits in emergency departments. For older people living with multiple conditions, including frailty and dementia, lengthy waits can literally be the difference between life and death. Waiting for treatment in corridors or other non-clinical spaces is dangerous for everyone, but older people are more likely to face waits of over 12 hours and to incur harm.
The BGS supports the APPG’s recommendations to bring to an end this unsafe practice. Flow through the hospital needs to be restored, in part by addressing the lack of community-based rehabilitation and social care that means 13,000 people remain marooned in hospital when they are medically fit to be discharged. We also need more community-based care to reduce avoidable Emergency Department attendance. Front Door Frailty services are a highly effective way of identifying and supporting older patients who arrive in the ED, and reducing admissions that can turn into long hospital stays. These approaches require a workforce that is skilled in supporting the complex needs of older people with multiple long-term conditions, including frailty and dementia. We have examples from across the country where these challenges have been overcome. We are ready and willing to share these with the Government to help end undignified and harmful hospital care provided in unsuitable environments.
