Kent Hospital Converts Costa Café into Makeshift Ward Amid Rising Overcrowding

The William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent, has been forced to convert its Costa Coffee café into a makeshift ward due to extreme demand and overcrowding, with elderly patients being treated in beds wheeled into the café space. Health campaigners and relatives of patients have described this situation as "humiliating" and "horrific," criticizing the East Kent Hospitals Trust for the lack of adequate space and care, highlighting the growing crisis in emergency care. The hospital has also experienced significant bed-blocking issues, causing long waits in emergency departments and leading to practices such as "corridor care," which doctors have called dehumanizing. The government’s health department has condemned the situation as "unacceptable" and is urging hospital bosses to take urgent measures to address it. East Kent Hospitals Trust's Chief Executive acknowledged the challenges and emphasized efforts to treat patients safely despite the pressure, while campaigners demand increased government funding and intervention to prevent such extreme measures in the future. These developments underscore the critical state of hospital capacity and patient care in the region amid an ongoing emergency care crisis.