Wes Streeting has said he cannot promise to eliminate “corridor care” in the NHS by next Christmas.
The Health Secretary said there was a “hell of a lot more to do” to improve the health service after confirming the Government had met a manifesto pledge to deliver two million more appointments.
Mr Streeting said: “I wish I could sit here now and tell you that, by next Christmas, there will be no one waiting on a trolley in a corridor.
“I can’t make that promise, but what I can tell you is that we will deliver year-on-year improvement, and I’m determined to see an end to that kind of corridor care.”
The Royal College of Physicians has urged the NHS to ensure patients are no longer treated in temporary care environments such as corridors and waiting room chairs.
Overcrowding has become a major concern this winter as hospitals came under intense pressure while dealing with the fallout of flu and cold weather.
In December, more than 54,000 people waited over 12 hours in A&E from a decision to admit to actually being given a bed – and many are likely to have received care in inappropriate spaces, the Royal College of Physicians warned.
Mr Streeting said there is “a lot done, a hell of a lot more to do”. He said an improvement plan for urgent and emergency care will be published in the coming weeks with the hope of a sustained year-on-year improvement in ambulance times.
He added: “We’ve delivered on our first step, and we’ve delivered it seven months early. But I don’t want anyone watching to think we’re doing victory laps. There are still massive challenges in the NHS, a hell of a lot further to go on waiting lists.
“People are still struggling to get GP appointments, and GPs are struggling, let me tell you, with the hard caseload they’ve got, and we’ve also got big challenges on things like ambulance response times and A&E trolley corridor care.”
The politician also signalled his support for more private investment to fix the NHS.
Last week, NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard said the Government should consider the use of private capital to fix the NHS’s crumbling buildings and infrastructure.
Mr Streeting told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday: “Well, we’re definitely committed to using the independent sector spare capacity to bring down NHS waiting lists faster.
“We do think that there is a role for financial flows and incentives – that’s built into our reform plan as well.”