Even the corridors are full

HOSPITALS are running out of corridor space due to the number of patients being forced to wait on trolleys.

And the winter crisis has left dozens of hospitals dangerously short of free beds, doctors have warned.

Vital operations are also now being delayed for long periods due to the chronic beds shortage.

An analysis of official NHS figures shows some hospitals have barely had a single free bed since mid-November.

On December 11, 18 major hospitals in 12 NHS trusts across England did not have a single spare bed.

Dr Taj Hassan, of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “Last winter, we said, ‘this is the worst in 15 years’. But I think, this winter, it’s even worse.”

Over the weekend, Dr Richard Fawcett, of Royal Stoke University Hospital, Staffs, tweeted that patients were waiting 12 hours to see a doctor.

He warned the hospital had resorted to stacking patients in ambulances as there was nowhere else to put them.