EMERGENCY doctors have expressed concern today about a new guide on how to treat patients in corridors, saying it is “normalising the dangerous.”

NHS England recently produced guidance on “providing safe and good quality care in temporary escalation spaces.”

But the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) said the “nonsensical” guidance is out of touch and that it is “not possible to provide safe and good quality care” in corridors or cupboards.

The guidance acknowledges corridor care is “not acceptable and should not be considered as standard,” but due to current pressures some hospitals are “using temporary escalation spaces more regularly — and this use is no longer ‘in extremis’.”

It suggests how staff can deliver the “safest, most effective and highest quality care possible” to patients in these circumstances.

In a statement yesterday, the college said: “Advice from arm’s length bodies that appear out of touch with what is happening in our departments was always going to be poorly received.”

The use of corridors will lead to long waits in emergency departments, “associated with measurable harm to patients,” it added.

The RCEM said patient privacy and dignity are not maintained when they are being cared for in corridors.

Rest and sleep for patients is “difficult, if not impossible,” it said, likewise controlling the spread of infection, and it is “challenging” for staff to monitor patients.

RCEM president Dr Adrian Boyle said the college was concerned that the guidance “represents a normalisation of what is an unacceptable and dangerous situation,” and that it “evidenced a lack of understanding for what has been happening in emergency departments for years.”

He said: “So-called ‘corridor care’ is a result of overcrowding, which leads to extended A&E stays that we know contribute to avoidable death.

“We and our members cannot, and will not, accept this situation.

“Rather than advising how to deal with overcrowding, all effort should be focused on preventing it.”

The news comes as some health commentators warned that hospitals are running “red hot,” with some predicting this winter could be “one of the worst the NHS has faced.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has recently ordered health service leaders to prioritise patient safety as winter approaches.

An NHS England spokesperson highlighted record levels of demand and said staff are “working hard to provide the safest possible care for patients.”