Health Secretary Yvette Cooper has told the NHS to draw up urgent plans to prioritise ending "corridor care" for children in hospitals, saying no child should receive treatment in a corridor.
Cooper made the announcement on BBC Sunday Politics, prompted by the death of two-year-old Finlay Roberts in 2024. Finlay died after spending his final hours in an A&E corridor at the Whittington Hospital in north London. His parents told the BBC the experience stripped their son of dignity. His father David Roberts said Finlay "clung to me, as we now know, slowly dying." His mother Liz Roberts recalled being asked to administer medication to her son in the corridor.
Cooper apologised to Finlay's family on behalf of the NHS. The health secretary said the government would establish new standards for children's care in A&E departments in England and collect figures on corridor care by age for the first time. She noted the government has already pledged to end corridor care for all patients by the end of this parliament.
"Corridor care" means patients receive treatment or wait in corridors, waiting rooms or other spaces lacking appropriate facilities. The Whittington Health NHS Trust acknowledged the incident, saying it continues to experience periods of exceptional demand and that some patients may receive care in temporary clinical areas including corridors. The trust stated its staff work "tirelessly to provide safe and compassionate care in extremely challenging conditions."
Cooper announced £140 million in funding to improve urgent care across England ahead of what she described as a "more difficult" winter than usual. The money will support 14 schemes including new urgent care centres, ambulance fleets and emergency department upgrades.
Health groups including Age UK, Marie Curie and the Royal College of Nursing recently urged Cooper to act on corridor care, describing the practice as fundamentally incompatible with NHS standards and requiring "whole-system action" to eliminate.
The move follows record A&E admissions over the summer. A&E departments recorded almost 7.3 million attendances between June and August, the highest figure for any summer period. NHS data showed approximately 7.37 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of August.
Shadow health secretary Damian Hinds said the government needed to act but questioned where the funding was coming from. RCN England executive director Patricia Marquis called the extra money welcome but said it would provide "just another sticking plaster on a system that is at breaking point."