Maureen Batchelor
5 Aug 2025 · Coroner Joanne Andrews · West Sussex, Brighton and Hove
This report repeats 2 earlier warnings, and was raised again 1 time later. See the linked reports.
The coroner's concerns
1. use of corridor for patient care
“when the Emergency Department of the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton reached capacity patients would be moved to and treated in the corridor as there was no clinical area available to do so”
2. use of corridor for patient care
“the corridor continues to be used to treat patients when there is i”
3. use of corridor for patient care
“the use of corridors to care for patients is not only an issue at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton but is used throughout the country when the capacities of Emergency Departments has been reached and there is nowhere to treat patients”
Linked reports
Identical hazardConfidence 0.90 · high
Earlier report
“As a result of the lack of appropriate space Mr [name redacted] an elderly and vulnerable patient was treated in the corridor for periods during his stay in the ED.”
This report
“when the Emergency Department of the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton reached capacity patients would be moved to and treated in the corridor as there was no clinical area available to do so.”
Identical hazardConfidence 0.96 · high
Earlier report
“privacy, toilet facilities and confidentiality. I understood from the evidence of the clinicians that they were concerned that patients were being moved into the Corridor but there appeared to be no other option when the Emergency Department exceeds capacity.”
This report
“During the inquest I heard evidence from clinicians at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust that when the Emergency Department of the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton reached capacity patients would be moved to and treated in the corridor as there was no clinical area available to do so.”
Identical hazardConfidence 0.95 · high
This report
“when the Emergency Department of the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton reached capacity patients would be moved to and treated in the corridor as there was no clinical area available to do so.”
Later report
“there were around 20 patients in the corridor as the Department had reached capacity and there was no clinical area available to do so.”
Responses
2025-0406-Response-from-Department-for-Health-and-Social-Care.pdf ↗· Department of Health and Social Care
2025-0406-Response-from-Hospital-Trust-1.pdf ↗· Department of Health and Social Care
Stated action
“We now have a Direct to specialties so certain categories of patient are accepted by the relevant specialty on presentation to the ED. Our Interim General Manager for Medicine and Urgent Care (Brighton and Haywards Heath) is the Responsive workstream lead for this, and data is collected daily for all specialty referrals from ED, to monitor the response times from the specialties. Specialties in-reach to ED/AMU/SDEC and we operate a 3/2/1 bleep system to ensure this is fast and effective. There”
2025-0406-Response-from-Hospital-Trust.pdf ↗· NHS England
Stated action
“We now have a Direct to specialties so certain categories of patient are accepted by the relevant specialty on presentation to the ED. Our Interim General Manager for Medicine and Urgent Care (Brighton and Haywards Heath) is the Responsive workstream lead for this, and data is collected daily for all specialty referrals from ED, to monitor the response times from the specialties. Specialties in-reach to ED/AMU/SDEC and we operate a 3/2/1 bleep system to ensure this is fast and effective. There”
2025-0406-Response-from-NHS-England.pdf ↗· NHS England
Stated action · 2025/26
“In June 2025, NHS England published the Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) Plan for 2025/26, which included an ambition to 'improve flow through hospitals with a particular focus on patients waiting over 12 hours and making progress on eliminating corridor care'.”