Investigation finds children treated in A&E corridors, waiting rooms and ambulances
An investigation has found children are being treated in A&E corridors, waiting rooms and ambulance bays, despite NHS guidance saying this is never acceptable for children.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
An investigation into NHS emergency care has found that thousands of children in England are being treated in corridors, waiting rooms and the backs of ambulances, even though official NHS guidance says corridor care is never acceptable for children.
Researchers examined data from 165 A&E departments across the UK. In paediatric A&E departments, 7% of children were treated in spaces such as a waiting room, the back of an ambulance or a corridor. In all emergency departments that see children, 15% of children who were admitted were treated in these areas. The investigation says that amounts to hundreds of children a month.
The findings include the case of Finlay Roberts, a two-year-old known as Finney. He was taken to A&E with a stomach ache and spent nine hours in a busy, understaffed department. Most of that time he sat in a chair in a corridor. During the nine hours, a complete set of observations was never done, according to the report. He was discharged. Hours later, his mother Liz woke to find him not breathing in the bed next to her. He had a twisted bowel, which is diagnosable with appropriate tests.
His family says his final hours were marked by indignity. At one point, Liz was given a suppository to give him while he sat on the chair. She removed his nappy in a public space, in full view of other people. He was gravely unwell and hours from death. His parents, David and Liz, say the chair was not the cause of his death, but it was emblematic of what went wrong. They describe the system as fundamentally broken. David said that if children in that degree of need are left sitting on a parent in a corridor, the system is broken. Two years on, the family says this should be a family of four.
Dr Tom Roberts, an A&E consultant who carried out the research, said it is not moral for anyone to spend time in a corridor, whether they are 90 or one year old. He said corridor care and busy departments cause harm and death. He added that staff try their best but need help from the rest of the hospital and from social care.
Official NHS guidance clearly states that for children, corridor care is never acceptable. The hospital that treated Finney said its staff worked tirelessly and it is taking all possible steps to improve. The government said corridor care is never acceptable, especially for children, and that it is determined to end it. The NHS said the data was gathered a year ago, during one of its busiest months, and that it has since made significant strides in rapidly reducing the problem. The investigation countered that the NHS has just had its busiest summer on record and is warning of ominous winter pressures ahead. One doctor said NHS officials should stand in A&E and count the patients themselves.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| A two-year-old named Finney, also named Finlay Roberts, spent nine hours mostly in a corridor chair at a busy and understaffed A&E, was discharged, and later died from a twisted bowel. | Reported by ITV |
| An A&E consultant said corridor care can cause harm and death. | |
| An investigation analysing data from 165 A&E departments found children in NHS emergency care in England were treated in corridors, waiting rooms, or ambulance bays, including 7% of children in paediatric A&E and 15% of admitted children in all emergency departments that see children. | |
| NHS guidance says children should never receive corridor care. | |
| The NHS said the data was gathered a year earlier and that it had since made significant strides in rapidly reducing the problem. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV Lunchtime News introduced the investigation as the latest escalation of corridor care, saying it had got worse. It focused on the shock that children, not just adults, are affected, and carried the family case alongside the research data. It also set out the hospital, government and NHS responses, with Rebecca Barry rebutting the NHS's claim that the data is outdated.
- “Just when you thought what's called corridor care couldn't get any worse, it seems it has.”
- “We're not suggesting that there are hospital corridors lined with trolleys full of kids, but children are being seen in a doubled-up cubicle, in a chair in A&E and in waiting rooms.”
- “The NHS has countered our report by saying that this data was gathered a year ago and since then they're making significant strides in rapidly reducing the problem, they say.”
ITV Evening News gave the story more space for the clinical and family detail. It included the additional finding that Finney never had a complete set of observations during his nine hours in A&E, and it interviewed the A&E consultant who carried out the research. The tone was sorrowful but firm on the harm caused by corridor care and the need for help from the wider hospital and social care.
- “But no point in the nine hours that Finley was there was a complete set of observations ever done.”
- “I don't think it's moral that anyone spends time in a corridor. Be that a 90 year old or be that a one year old.”
- “But we really need help from the rest of the hospital and from social care to sort this problem out.”
ITV News at Ten led its segment by stating that not even little children are spared corridor care, and stressed that winter has not yet started. It repeated the full investigation and the family case, then used the studio interview to press the NHS on its claim that the data is old. The programme placed the story prominently in a bulletin that also carried international and political news.
- “Now in some A&E departments, not even little children are spared corridor care.”
- “Data we've obtained shows thousands of children end up getting corridor care like Finney and winter hasn't even started.”
- “As one doctor put it to me, those NHS staff should come and stand in A&E, see it for themselves, and count those patients for themselves.”
Broadcast Timeline
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