Patients routinely treated in mop cupboards and corridors, nurses' survey says
A shortage of space in overcrowded NHS hospitals means patients are routinely treated in television rooms, mop cupboards and corridors, a survey of nurses suggests today.
Kitchens and storage areas are also used while extra beds are put on wards, increasing the the risk of infections spreading.
The poll of more than 900 nurses for Nursing Times found that 63 per cent were aware of patients being placed in areas not designed for clinical care.
Almost eight in 10 respondents (79 per cent) said they believed this resulted in patient safety being put at risk, due to patients not having access to call bells or water, or fire exits being blocked.
Of those who were aware of the practice, 29 per cent said it happened every day, 29 per cent said several times a week and 11 per cent said once a week.
The remainder said it happened once a month or less.
Reasons cited for the use of non-clinical areas included the hospital being “full”, A&E being “under pressure” or a risk that the Government’s four hour target for people to be seen in A&E may be breached, leading to unnecessary hospital admissions.
More than 300 nurses who responded to the survey revealed specific examples of what happened to patients.
One anonymous nurse said the areas had been described as an “overspill car park”, while another said: “If a patient’s condition suddenly deteriorated resulting in them having a cardiac arrest we would not be able to get the crash trolley to them.”
Another nurse added: “Urine bottles are not emptied, meals are missed, as staff are not aware of the patient.”
A total of 83 per cent of nurses said they had raised concerns about the practice with senior staff but only 4 per cent said it had then been stopped.
Others said the move had been authorised by senior managers, while some nurses said they had been bullied and accused of “not being a team player” for raising their concerns.
In a statement, the Department of Health said that the vast majority of NHS patients experienced good quality, safe and effective care.
“However, we acknowledge there is more to do and will continue to strive to make services even safer.””
It was for local health authorities and providers to assess services locally, a spokesman added.
“Every nurse must comply with the standards, performance and ethics outlined in the Nursing and Midwifery Council code. In particular, any nurse who is concerned about any risk to their patients should report their concerns to their manager, in writing if necessary.”
Katherine Murphy, director of the Patients Association, added: “Not only is this potentially unsafe, but it is completely undignified. In extreme circumstances the NHS might need to resort to this, but the results of this survey suggest it is a widespread practice.”
David Rose, The Times 09-03-2010