Nurses and doctors in Wales have issued a joint petition calling on the Welsh government to end the "dehumanising" treatment of patients in hospital corridors.
Two unions representing NHS staff want the public to sign and support the call as they feel it has become normalised for people to be treated in "undignified environments" where they are at risk of significant harm.
One doctor spoke of patients being treated 50cm away from each other, such are the cramped conditions in emergency departments.
The Welsh government said it did not endorse routine care in non-clinical environments where privacy or dignity is compromised, "however there are occasions when the NHS faces exceptional pressures".
"Sitting on a chair or being in a corridor on a trolley is not only uncomfortable, there's also a complete lack of dignity. It's dehumanising," said Dr Nicky Leopold, a consultant geriatrician who sits on the Welsh consultant committee for the British Medical Association (BMA).
Pressures on hospitals increased dramatically following the pandemic, with an increased demand on services and growing difficulty to safely discharge patients because of shortages in social care.
This has lead to poor patient flow through hospitals, with fewer available beds increasing waits in A&E or outside hospitals in ambulances.
