Due to demands on space many emergency departments in the UK care for patients in areas not originally designed for this purpose. These areas are collectively known as escalation areas and can include hospital corridors. The UNCORKED study aims to estimate the proportion of patients that experience care in these areas and describe which patients do so in terms of basic information such as age, diagnosis and where they move to from the ED.

The study also aims to come up with a standard definition for escalation area and corridor care, which is currently lacking. This work will be important for future research into how patient outcomes are affected by experiencing escalation area and corridor care.

As part of this study we will collect anonymised patient data from routine medical records such as age, gender and diagnosis made in the emergency department.

We will also be collecting some data about how the emergency department manages patients when their normal care areas are full.

There is currently little data that describes how often escalation areas are used across the UK and which patients experience care in these areas. This research will provide important information to help develop future research into the effects of this care. It will also give clinical leaders a real-world picture of how often emergency departments are over capacity.

An agreed upon definition for escalation and corridor care will provide a common language for future research and policy discussion.

The final outcomes from the UNCORKED study will be communicated via presentations in scientific meetings and by peer reviewed publications.

We will aim to publish the results approximately 12 months after completion. We may discuss interim results at academic conferences prior to this.