A patient with stage four terminal cancer and a suspected serious infection has been treated in a hospital corridor amid severe pressure at Salisbury District Hospital.
The cancer patient, who is currently receiving treatment and is believed to have developed a new infection, was taken to the hospital’s Accident and Emergency department after becoming unwell.
Despite concerns that the patient may have sepsis, they were left in the Majors corridor while staff attempted to investigate and treat the infection.
A nurse was seen having to administer intravenous treatment in the corridor because of a reported lack of space within Majors and the Acute Medical Unit (AMU).
The patient’s family said they were particularly concerned because cancer treatment can weaken the immune system, leaving some patients more vulnerable to infection.
They questioned why someone already seriously ill and being investigated for a potentially significant infection was having to receive treatment alongside other patients passing through a busy hospital corridor.
Patients filling corridors amid bed pressures
The situation appeared to be part of wider pressure across the hospital during the night, with numerous patients being cared for in corridors while staff attempted to find appropriate clinical spaces.
Patients and relatives described the Emergency Department as extremely busy, with people waiting for assessment and treatment for hours.
Ambulances were also seen outside the Emergency Department, with reports of crews waiting with patients as pressure continued inside the hospital.
One patient told UKNIP they had contacted NHS 111 at around 4pm before an ambulance eventually arrived at approximately 8pm.
By around 5.30am the following morning, they said they were still at the hospital as patients continued waiting for treatment or appropriate bed spaces.
Others had reportedly been waiting in the Emergency Department since the previous afternoon.
Staff ‘firefighting’ under intense pressure
Despite the conditions, frontline doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants and ambulance crews were continuing to treat patients throughout the night.
The scenes appeared to show staff attempting to manage significant demand while faced with limited available clinical space.
The concern is not simply that patients are waiting longer than expected, but that some are receiving clinical care in corridors rather than in conventional treatment areas.
NHS England has previously said corridor care should not become normal practice and that patients should receive safe, dignified and appropriate care even during periods of severe operational pressure.
For vulnerable patients, including those undergoing cancer treatment or being investigated for serious infection, appropriate monitoring and infection-control arrangements can be particularly important.
UKNIP has approached Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust for comment and has asked about the pressures experienced within the Emergency Department and AMU, the use of corridor care, ambulance handover delays and what measures are being taken to protect vulnerable patients.
We have also asked the Trust to confirm the level of demand experienced overnight and whether any critical incidents or escalation measures were in place.
This article will be updated when a response is received.
