As hospitals fill up, physiotherapy gyms are being converted into wards, according to the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), and patients are being treated in chairs “day and night.” “Our physiotherapy gym has now been taken.
Over for extra bed spaces and the corridors are full to the brim,” said Dr. Mashkur Khan, the RCP regional advisor for south London. Frequently, patients are kept in chairs all day and all night.
“A corridor full of trolleys is a common sight when you arrive at the emergency department at 8am,” said Dr. Jacob de Wolff, RCP regional manager for north west London.
There will have been bright lights and no simple access to a restroom for some of these patients who spent the night there.
“Physicians tell us that they are being asked to provide more and more care in corridors and other temporary environments,” said Dr. John Dean, clinical vice president of RCP.
This has to stop because it is intolerable. “Patients waiting in corridors is unsafe and undignified,” said Dr. Hilary Williams, vice president for Wales for the RCP.
