According to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), patients are frequently treated for lengthy periods of time—sometimes even days—on seats in hallways.
The union also stated that they are being diagnosed with cancer in public places and may even need to have private exams performed there.
According to the RCN, a study of nearly 11,000 frontline nursing staff members nationwide reveals that the practice has spread.
Nearly two out of five respondents who were questioned about their most recent shift said they had provided treatment in an improper location, such a corridor.
Nearly seven out of ten patients stated that their privacy and dignity had been violated.
One nurse remarked, “You wouldn’t treat a dog this way.”
Another nurse related the story of a dementia patient who went hours without oxygen in a hallway.
They stated: “She was pushing a wheelchair down a hallway with her daughter when I got there. She was crying, confused, and quite anxious. This was an entirely unsuitable setting for any patient to get care in, let alone one with dementia.”
At the beginning of the union’s annual meeting, Professor Nicola Ranger, the acting general secretary of the RCN, will declare a national emergency.
The organization will also release a report on clinical care in inappropriate areas.
