Enter and view: Countess of Chester Accident and Emergency Department corridor care

Healthwatch Cheshire West undertook an Enter and View visit to the Accident and Emergency Department at the Countess of Chester Hospital in December 2025. This visit followed earlier Enter and View activity in November 2024 and a focused follow-up visit in July 2025, which examined the experiences of patients receiving care in corridors and other temporary escalation spaces. The purpose of the December 2025 visit was to understand whether actions taken by the Trust following earlier Healthwatch recommendations had led to improvements in patient experience, particularly around safety, privacy and dignity, communication, nutrition and hydration.   They spoke to 10 people.

During the December visit, all temporary escalation care was taking place within the Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) unit, rather than in corridors within the main Emergency Department. Patients and relatives said that this represented a marked improvement compared with previous experiences in A&E corridors. The SDEC environment was described as calmer, cleaner and more comfortable, and the availability of private rooms within the frailty area has relatively improved privacy and dignity for some patients. 

Patients continued to speak positively about staff, describing them as kind, caring and professional despite the pressures they were working under. Staffing levels met agreed ratios of 1:8, and staff were visible and engaged with patients. 

However, a number of challenges identified in July 2025 remained evident in December. These included limited privacy in open areas and mixed experiences of night-time noise and lighting. Some people did not know about the washing and shower facilities. Patients staying for several days had limited food choices. There was also inconsistent information provided in writing about what would happen next.

While Healthwatch Cheshire recognises the significant progress made in reducing corridor care within the main Emergency Department, further work is needed to ensure that care provided in temporary escalation spaces consistently meets expected standards and that patient experience continues to improve.