Corridor care: the hidden risk inside hospital overcrowding

South Australia’s healthcare system is under sustained pressure, and while ambulance ramping has become a visible sign of that strain, a less visible issue is emerging inside hospital walls. It’s often referred to as “corridor care”.

Awareness of corridor care has grown following widespread media coverage of Helen Sargent, who died after being left in a hospital corridor at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 2025. CCTV footage showed she had been placed in a non-clinical space without access to an emergency buzzer and was unattended for an extended period before being found unresponsive.

Her case highlighted the risks that can arise when hospitals operate beyond capacity, and clinicians are left deciding where patients can be safely cared for.

More broadly, corridor care means treating patients in spaces not designed for medical care, such as corridors, waiting areas, or other improvised environments, because no beds are available. While sometimes used to manage demand, growing evidence suggests corridor care can carry serious medical risks.

A system evidently under pressure

The conditions that lead to ramping and corridor care¹ are not new. Emergency departments across South Australia are managing:

• high patient volumes
• limited inpatient beds
• delays in discharging patients
• workforce shortages across clinical roles

At times, the system becomes gridlocked, and clinicians are forced to divide their attention between patient care and the logistics of space.

The visible queues of ambulances outside hospitals can instead become lines of patients inside, in waiting rooms, cubicles, and corridors, still waiting, but now largely out of public view.

Why corridor care raises concern

Even where used temporarily, the practice of treating patients in makeshift areas has prompted scrutiny from clinicians, unions, and regulators. These concerns are practical and immediate, such as:

Limited monitoring

Corridors often lack appropriate observation equipment and visibility.

Delayed treatment

Access to oxygen, resuscitation equipment, or timely intervention may be compromised.

Reduced privacy and dignity

Patients may receive care and treatment in public or semi-public spaces.

Environmental constraints

Corridors are not designed for clinical care, lacking essential infrastructure, such as medical gases and equipment access.

Corridor care is not a solution to ramping

Corridor care could be discussed in the same breath as ambulance ramping, but it’s important to understand the relationship.

Ramping happens outside hospitals. Corridor care happens inside. Both stem from the same issue: a system under strain.

A 2025 inquest into three deaths linked to ambulance ramping made 18 recommendations to improve patient safety and system flow. While it recognised that ramping is now part of modern healthcare, the coroner made clear that patient safety must remain the priority.

Importantly, the recommendations did not support shifting patients into less appropriate environments. Instead, they focused on strengthening care through measures such as:

• purpose-built, clinically supervised ambulance waiting areas adjacent to emergency departments
• improved patient monitoring, including clearer protocols for recognising and responding to deterioration
• structured clinical handovers between paramedics and hospital staff
• stronger system-wide oversight, accountability, and patient flow

The direction is clear: pressure on the system cannot be managed at the expense of patient safety. Moving patients from one setting to another less suitable environment does not address the problem.

When system pressure causes human harm

Not every instance of delayed or compromised care will lead to legal liability. But in some cases, where a person suffers harm because treatment falls below a reasonable standard, there may be grounds for a medical negligence claim.

This can include situations where:

• delays in treatment lead to deterioration
• patients are not adequately monitored
• necessary equipment or intervention is unavailable

As with ambulance ramping, corridor care is often a systemic issue, not the fault of any individual clinician. However, healthcare providers still have a duty to make sure care meets acceptable standards.

How Maurice Blackburn can help

If you or someone you care about has experienced harm due to delayed or inadequate medical care, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact us for a confidential and free discussion. 

Maurice Blackburn’s medical negligence team can provide confidential advice about your situation and help you understand your options.

^{[1] ACEM - ‘Hidden ramping’ straining South Australia’s emergency departments}