NHS told to end corridor care for children
Health secretary Yvette Cooper says urgent standards will be drawn up ahead of winter.
Health secretary Yvette Cooper has ordered urgent standards for treating children in hospital emergency departments and made eliminating corridor care a priority. The announcement came as the government pledged almost £140 million for urgent-care capacity in England ahead of winter.
Cooper told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme that she had asked the chief executive of NHS England to draw up new standards for how children should be treated in A&E. She said the government would prioritise ending the use of corridors for children while pursuing a broader plan to reduce corridor care across the NHS.
The health secretary also said ministers had begun collecting figures on corridor care during the summer and would now gather specific data on when children were treated in corridors. Consistent reporting would help measure whether corridor care is declining.
The Department of Health and Social Care separately announced almost £140 million for 14 urgent-care schemes across England. The department said the money was intended for urgent treatment centres, same-day emergency care, new ambulance fleets and emergency-department upgrades. According to the department, a further 25 new or expanded sites announced in April are expected to open in time for winter.
The department said the NHS had experienced its busiest summer on record and was preparing for seasonal illnesses including flu and norovirus. The department also encouraged people to receive flu vaccinations to help reduce pressure on emergency services.
The announcement is a pledge and funding decision, not evidence that corridor care has already ended. It also applies to England; health services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are run through their devolved systems. It remains to be seen whether the measures will end corridor care for children during periods of high demand.
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One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The government announced almost £140 million for 14 urgent-care schemes in England.
- The health secretary asked NHS England to develop standards intended to end corridor care for children.
- The promised standards and outcomes have not yet been published.
Left
Arguments The left would argue that corridor care reflects years of underinvestment, workforce shortages and pressure to run hospitals at near-full capacity. It would favour sustained public funding and stronger national standards.
Values Universal access, dignity at work and equal treatment regardless of income or location.
Consequences It would warn that one-off capital funding may not solve staffing and bed shortages, leaving hospitals unable to meet the promise.
Centre
Arguments The centre would support targeted urgent-care investment while demanding measurable standards, transparent data and evidence that new services reduce pressure rather than move it elsewhere.
Values Patient safety, institutional accountability and value for money.
Consequences It would emphasise the need to judge the policy by waiting times, paediatric safety and winter outcomes.
Right
Arguments The right would welcome action but argue that better management, prevention and use of independent capacity may matter as much as additional public spending.
Values Efficiency, responsibility for public money and choice.
Consequences It would fear that permanent commitments made during a crisis could expand costs without fixing productivity or demand.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Priya Shah — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article accurately separates the announced policy from its future delivery. Funding, numbers and scope are taken from official government material, while the corridor-care pledge is attributed to Cooper through ITV's report.
- confirmed Cooper ordered urgent standards for children's treatment in A&E. — Reported by ITV News from Cooper's BBC interview. source
- confirmed Almost £140 million will fund 14 urgent-care schemes. — Department of Health and Social Care announcement. source
- confirmed A further 25 sites are expected to open for winter. — Official government announcement. source
Editor's note
The policy pledge and funding are confirmed by ITV News and the Department of Health and Social Care. No evidence was available that the new standards have yet been published or that corridor care has already fallen.Sources
- Health Secretary pledges action to end corridor care for children in hospitals — ITV News
- £140 million boost to urgent care to ease winter pressures on NHS — Department of Health and Social Care
More on this in other media
- iNews — „nhs children”
- BBC News — „nhs children”
- The Guardian — „nhs children”