The corridors of the A&E department at Watford General Hospital in Hertfordshire were once lined with dozens of patients, waiting hours, or even days, for a bed on a ward.
A few years ago, there would regularly be up to 28 patients left on trolleys in the crowded corridors, seven days a week.
But today, the hospital’s hallways are clear and quiet.
In recent months, there have been no cases of so-called ‘corridor care’, despite record demand this winter.
“The number one thing that we’ve changed here is the culture – the culture of accepting,” Chief Nurse Kelly McGovern told ITV News.
McGovern said ‘corridor care’ had become normalised, but now there’s been a shift in mindset and staff aim to treat every patient like their own family member.
“It’s actually soul-destroying to be nursing in a corridor, so we’ve allowed our staff to say it’s not ok and we won’t continue to do it,” explained McGovern.
The hospital has managed to improve A&E waiting times, moving from 102nd in the NHS league tables in 2022, to now being in the top 10.
Gary Carmont, 76, has diabetes and regularly needs to visit the hospital.
“I was one of those patients in the corridor. It was cold and it was very noisy, because it wasn’t equipped,” Gary told ITV News.
“The nurses did a good job, but it’s much more organised now.”
When nurse EJ Llamas arrived to work at Watford General Hospital from the Philippines, he was shocked at the NHS he found.
Treating patients in corridors was so demoralising for him, he even considered leaving the profession
“It was draining,” EJ told ITV News.
“When you see patients suffering, I wasn’t satisfied. I was giving them treatment, but not the holistic care I’m meant to give.”
Data analysis has played a big part in the hospital’s success.
They now have a control room with floor to ceiling screens displaying real-time data on patients and bed availability.
They have even borrowed techniques from Heathrow Airport to transform how patients flow through the hospital.
“What you can see all around me are screens showing real-time information that track the patients’ journey through our hospital,” explained Rachel Thorman, Chief Operating Officer at the West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
“We can match up the patients that need a bed with the beds that we’re got coming available.”
But the secret to tackling corridor care has not just been about changes within the hospital walls.
The Trust has teamed up with other parts of the health system, like the ambulance service.
When ambulance crews have a suspected stroke patient they can use iPads to video call doctors based at the hospital to help remotely diagnose them, so that they can be fast-tracked to the right specialist team, avoiding any delays in A&E.
The government has promised to eradicate ‘corridor care” in England by 2029.
The Department of Health has pledged to deploy “expert teams” to the worst affected hospitals, to provide support and leadership.
In March 2026, NHS England published a definition of ‘corridor care’ for the first time to allow trusts to begin collecting data on the problem, which is due to be published later this month.
The teams at Watford General Hospital are optimistic others can learn from what they’ve achieved.
“It can be done. We’ve gone from being one of the worst in the country, to having the highest number of extra beds.
“If we can do that, anyone can.”
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