Understanding corridor care in UK emergency departments

Understanding escalation area and corridor care in UK emergency departments: an observational cohort and Delphi study

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN16396025

Enrollment

10000

Registered

2025-05-09

Start date

2025-03-03

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2025-09-08

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

UK Emergency Department use of escalation areas Other

Interventions

Multicentre observational cohort study utilising a 'snapshot' approach to identify the proportion of patients within UK emergency departments who are being looked after in the escalation area. Data wi

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Any patient present in the ED at the recruitment time points, who experience ED escalation area care during their ED stay or are admitted to hospital. Escalation areas will be defined for the purposes of identifying eligible patients as any area not routinely used unless the capacity of the usual ED geographical footprint is exceeded.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Does not meet the inclusion criteria

Design outcomes

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. Demographics of patients within UK Emergency Departments who are being looked after in escalation areas, collected from the electronic health record for each eligible patient at each snapshot 2. 28-day hospital length of stay and mortality rates for patients who receive care in escalation areas, collected from the electronic health record for each eligible patient at each snapshot 3. Type of escalation area(s) experienced, collected from the electronic health record for each eligible patient at each snapshot 4. Time spent in escalation areas, collected from the electronic health record for each eligible patient at each snapshot 5. ED diagnosis, collected from the electronic health record for each eligible patient at each snapshot 6. ED disposition, collected from the electronic health record for each eligible patient at each snapshot These five snapshots will be spread out over a 2-week period (with at least 48 hours between timepoints) from 3rd to 16th March 2025	—

Measure

Time frame

1. Demographics of patients within UK Emergency Departments who are being looked after in escalation areas, collected from the electronic health record for each eligible patient at each snapshot 2. 28-day hospital length of stay and mortality rates for patients who receive care in escalation areas, collected from the electronic health record for each eligible patient at each snapshot 3. Type of escalation area(s) experienced, collected from the electronic health record for each eligible patient at each snapshot 4. Time spent in escalation areas, collected from the electronic health record for each eligible patient at each snapshot 5. ED diagnosis, collected from the electronic health record for each eligible patient at each snapshot 6. ED disposition, collected from the electronic health record for each eligible patient at each snapshot These five snapshots will be spread out over a 2-week period (with at least 48 hours between timepoints) from 3rd to 16th March 2025

—

Primary

Measure	Time frame
The proportion of patients in UK Emergency Departments having care provided in escalation areas, prospectively collected at sites, performed at each of the five snapshots spread out over a 2-week period (with at least 48 hours between timepoints) from 3rd to 16th March 2025	—

Countries

England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, United Kingdom, Wales

Contacts

Public ContactTom Roberts

tom.roberts@bristol.ac.uk-

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026