Sussex NHS warns A&E corridor end-of-life strain

If someone you love is dying, you probably imagine care at home or in a hospice, not on a trolley by a busy nurses’ station. This winter, senior clinicians in Sussex say more people at the end of life are arriving at hospital and staying there, which risks squeezing treatment for others who could benefit from timely admission. The human story matters here, but so does understanding how the system works so you can ask for the right help at the right time.

A recorded online meeting of Sussex health leaders on 4 November heard a stark warning from a University Hospitals Sussex palliative care consultant: beds are filling with end‑of‑life patients and some people with treatable illness may miss out on care if wards stay blocked. The briefing also described the reality of A&E corridors being used for enhanced palliative support when no cubicle or ward bed is free.

The same presentation described how local hospices are struggling to take transfers, leading hospitals to prioritise only the most complex cases. Clinicians then face bleak choices in emergency departments: admit someone to corridor care, or try to send them home with scant community support, knowing they may deteriorate on the journey. These are clinical decisions made under pressure, not moral failures by staff.

Emergency medicine leaders say this is not just a Sussex story. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine calls corridor care undignified and unsafe, and estimates that for every 72 patients who endure 8–12 hours in A&E before a bed, one additional death occurs. In their words, ending corridor care by 2029 must be a national priority.

We’ve seen how normal this has become. In early 2025, University Hospitals Sussex advertised a doctor to focus on caring for frail older people in A&E corridors-an attempt to improve safety in a setting that should be temporary. The advert, later closed, underlined how this practice has crept into daily work.

Why do corridors fill up? Because wards are already near full. In November 2025, England recorded more than 50,000 ‘12‑hour trolley waits’ after the decision to admit-a sign that beds were not available. Analysts also show average bed occupancy hovering above safe levels, leaving little room for surges and slowing the flow from A&E to wards.

Meanwhile, hospices-who provide specialist end‑of‑life care outside hospital-say they’re cutting services. Hospice UK reports two in five hospices planning reductions, with 57% in deficit last year and around 380 hospice beds in England currently out of use. In West Sussex, St Catherine’s even mothballed rooms despite a new facility-evidence of a wider funding squeeze.

Teams in Sussex are still trying to keep care centred on people’s wishes. The local NHS explains how advance care planning can help you state where and how you want to be cared for. Hospital palliative care teams at University Hospitals Sussex work with ward staff, families and local hospices to manage symptoms, plan discharges and, where possible, support care at home or in a hospice rather than on a ward.

If you hear terms like “comfort care” or “end‑of‑life plan”, they refer to clear steps to manage pain, breathlessness, agitation, sickness and airway secretions-and to keep families informed. Sussex hospitals provide leaflets on what this looks like and what to expect in the last days and hours, plus guidance for going home near the end of life, including who to call if things change.

There is also a new safety net if you feel someone is getting worse and your concerns aren’t being heard. Martha’s Rule is being rolled out across acute hospitals in England, giving patients and families a direct route to request a rapid review by a critical care team. NHS England says the scheme expanded to all 210 acute sites by September 2025; do check your hospital’s details on arrival.

Policy is shifting, though not fast enough for many families. The government announced £100m for hospices in December 2024 and a further £25m in early 2025, with more capital to follow. Hospice leaders welcomed a new national framework for palliative and end‑of‑life care in November 2025 but say sustainable day‑to‑day funding is still needed so people can be cared for at home or in hospices rather than hospitals.

If you’re a student or carer trying to make sense of all this, focus on three signals: how full hospitals are, how quickly people who are ready to leave can actually go, and whether local hospice and community teams have capacity. High bed occupancy and delayed discharges are not just statistics; they decide whether someone spends their last hours in a quiet room or on a corridor. Our job-together-is to keep the person at the centre and ask early for the support that honours that aim.