hallway medicine
n. The practice of leaving patients on gurneys in hallways during all or most of their hospital stay because there are no available rooms in wards.
Examples
2000
Further west, in Winnipeg, 'hallway medicine' has become so routine that hallway stretcher locations have permanent numbers.
—James Brooke, “Full Hospitals Make Canadians Wait and Look South,” The New York Times, January 16, 2000
1990 (earliest)
In June, the Olive View team operated at 223% of capacity — once again beating the three other county maternity wards.

Until recently, the staff coped by practicing hallway medicine. When all the labor rooms were filled, women with fetal monitors strapped to their swollen bellies were lined up on gurneys in the hallway.
—Lynn O'Shaughnessy, “Baby boom pushes a hosptial to limit,” Los Angeles Times, September 30, 1990
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