Lib Dems to urge Government to ‘end corridor care’ by 2029 at spring conference

“Corridor care” in hospitals has become “the new normal” and must be eliminated by the end of this Parliament, the Liberal Democrats will say at the launch of the party’s spring conference.

Lib Dem health spokeswoman Helen Morgan will say winter NHS crises have become “annual events” and call on the Government to commit to a £1.5 billion fund to safeguard its services over the colder months.

Some 163,000 patients waited in A&E for more than 12 hours after a decision to admit them to hospital last winter, according to House of Commons Library research commissioned by the party.

Ms Morgan, MP for North Shropshire, is expected to say: “Patients such as my constituent Emma, who having been diagnosed with sepsis spent 48 hours in a fit-to-sit area, and then 12 hours on a trolley in an X-ray corridor before finally being admitted, alongside a horrifying delay in the medication required to deal with her life-threatening condition.

“I’m glad to say Emma is recovering.

“But these horrifying stories are symptoms of what we have described in recent years as ‘winter pressure’, or occasionally even ‘winter crisis’ with hospitals full due to spikes in winter diseases such as flu, Covid, and norovirus.

“Far from being an unexpected bolt from the blue, this ‘winter crisis’ has become an annual event and the knock-on effect for the community is devastating… this is fast becoming the new normal.”

She will add: “What if, instead of just reacting… normalising corridor care and spending money far too late… we invested, now, properly, to ensure the NHS is prepared for next winter?

“The Government has the opportunity – and the responsibility – to end corridor care, forever, to ensure patients never have to face such indignity again.

“This has to happen by the end of this Parliament at the very latest.”

The Lib Dems, buoyed by electoral gains last year that left them the third largest party in the Commons, have made health and social care central to their challenge to Sir Keir Starmer’s Government.

On Saturday, Ms Morgan will say the party is providing “the only real opposition” on the state of the NHS and call on ministers to speed up cross-party talks on social care.

An independent commission on adult social care reform, led by Baroness Louise Casey, is due to report on its findings in 2028.

But Ms Morgan will say “2028 is too late for a care sector on its knees”.

She will add: “We were angered beyond words when those cross-party talks were abandoned at the last minute because of ‘diary clashes’.

“Which politician can’t be bothered to clear their diary for a once-in-a-generation chance to fix the problem of social care?

“Not one that is fit for office, that’s for sure.

“The truth is that it is Liberal Democrats providing the only real opposition to this Labour Government when it comes to the NHS and care.”