Handover delays remain one of the most visible and damaging pressures on the ambulance sector. Crews face long waits to hand patients over safely, control rooms see call stacks grow, and patients experience increased risk. These delays reduce ambulance availability, strain staff and contribute to corridor care and, in the most pressured systems, the use of car parks or other non‑clinical areas.
In March, AACE welcomed NHS England’s renewed national focus on eliminating corridor care. Although the letter to acute trust leaders did not explicitly reference car park care, AACE has consistently raised concerns about both practices with NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Our position is clear: corridor care and prolonged handovers are unacceptable and reflect wider failures in patient flow. Moving delays from the emergency department to a corridor or an ambulance does not remove risk — it simply redistributes it. Sustainable improvement requires whole‑system leadership, shared ownership of risk and a commitment to improving flow end‑to‑end.
AACE continues to work closely with NHS England (NHSE) and DHSC to drive national action. Both organisations have reaffirmed their commitment to reducing handover delays and eliminating corridor and car park care through a multi‑pronged strategy addressing underlying causes.
In February, AACE and the Royal College of Paramedics (RCoP) wrote jointly to NHSE Chief Executive Sir Jim Mackey, outlining the system conditions, leadership behaviours and operational approaches needed for meaningful progress. Drawing on ambulance quality indicators and case studies, the letter highlighted trusts that have already achieved significant improvements. These examples show that when leadership, operational discipline and partnership working align, delays can be reduced and patient flow strengthened, even in highly pressured environments.
A consistent theme across these success stories is visible, committed executive‑level leadership. Trusts that have reduced delays typically have senior leaders who take personal responsibility for flow, set clear expectations and foster a culture where long delays and corridor care are not accepted as inevitable. Strong escalation processes and shared understanding of risk across organisational boundaries are also key.
NHSE has said it is supporting improvement through targeted operational measures, helping trusts redesign handover processes and improve flow. Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOEs) are guiding hospitals to streamline handover procedures, and NHSE is working directly with ambulance services to reduce queueing outside emergency departments.
DHSC and NHSE are also taking visible and decisive steps to eradicate corridor care. Specialist GIRFT (Getting It Right First Time) teams are being deployed to the most challenged trusts to analyse bottlenecks, strengthen discharge processes and support earlier senior clinical decision‑making. For the first time, a national definition of corridor care has been introduced, which it nis hoped will contribute towards enabling more consistent measurement and accountability. Trusts have begun collecting and publishing corridor‑care data, which AACE hopes will increase transparency and drive improvement.
AACE and RCoP have also stressed the need to support paramedics and community clinicians to move care more effectively across system boundaries. We know that many patients conveyed by ambulance do not require major treatment, and DHSC’s investment in 40 new or expanded urgent care sites — including new Urgent Treatment Centres and expanded Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) units — aims to increase alternatives to ED and reduce pressure on emergency departments. This is to be welcomed.
There are early signs of progress. Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has reported a 43% reduction in 12‑hour waits, supported by strengthened senior clinical presence, redesigned assessment pathways and improved discharge planning. Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust has recorded 10,000 fewer hours of corridor care compared with the previous year, attributed to enhanced patient‑flow oversight, earlier decision‑making and closer collaboration with community services. These examples show that meaningful progress is possible even in highly pressured systems.
Meanwhile, South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust’s sharp reduction in handover delays has been widely attributed to the deep operational collaboration it forged with its local hospitals, as reported by the Health Service Journal in December 2025.
After years of some of the longest delays in the country, SWAST and acute trusts across the region established joint workstreams led by local chief executives, strengthened day‑to‑day communication, and created shared decision‑making processes that allowed problems to be tackled in real time. Hospitals introduced practical measures such as rapid offloading into seated assessment areas, earlier clinical decisions about alternative pathways, and dedicated advice lines for paramedics, while SWAST expanded “hear and treat” options and increased clinical support in control rooms.
The results were dramatic: several trusts cut average handover times by two‑thirds or more year‑on‑year, with no hospital averaging over an hour by October 2025. Leaders across the system described the improvement as the product of a genuinely shared goal, better relationships, and a willingness to use data collectively to improve flow.
AACE Managing Director Anna Parry says:
AACE’s position remains clear: the greatest risk sits in the community when ambulances are unable to respond. Corridor care and car park care are symptoms of wider capacity pressures and are not acceptable long‑term solutions.
However, we believe that in a system where demand consistently exceeds capacity, distributing risk across the urgent and emergency care pathway is safer than leaving unseen patients waiting without help.
AACE will continue working with NHSE, DHSC and system leaders to ensure national commitments translate into real improvements for patients and staff.
