Ending corridor care in hospitals for children will be a priority, says health secretary
Corridor care has become one of those phrases that normalizes the absurd. We've accepted that a child might be treated in a hallway, surrounded by noise and foot traffic, because the alternative is worse. So hearing a secretary of state call it a priority to end is at least a recognition that the baseline has shifted too far.
The £140m for urgent care is real money, but winter always finds new ways to spend it. I'd want to know how much of this goes to the actual infrastructure that prevents corridor care, like discharge pathways and social care capacity, rather than just more temporary fixes. The promise is easy; the delivery is where the system usually buckles.
I think the interesting part is that children specifically are being singled out. It suggests a moral line in the sand, a sense that some things are too far. If we can hold that line for kids, maybe it starts to apply to everyone else too. That's the part I'd want to watch.