A&E situation ‘beyond words’, claims woman
THE granddaughter of a woman taken to hospital with suspected heart problems said the situation in accident and emergency was “beyond words”.
Lucinda Wilcox was so shocked by the number of people lining the corridors on trolleys at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant, that she took pictures to highlight the problem.
“I counted nine [people] in the corridor on trolleys waiting to be seen,” she said. “It really was upsetting and eyeopening.
“The people on the trolleys, some of them were on their own, they were hunched over in the beds. They were coming off the trolleys because obviously they’d been there for so long.”
The health board which administers Royal Glamorgan said there was a “high level of demand” at the hospital.
Ms Wilcox has called on health bosses to spend time in A&E departments, which she says are at “breaking point”.
The images were taken on the same day the Welsh Government health secretary Vaughan Gething insisted the NHS in Wales was not in crisis.
Ms Wilcox’s 86-year-old grandmother was taken to the hospital on Tuesday evening after showing symptoms of a suspected heart attack. She was seen straight away because of the nature of her condition but others were not so lucky.
Ms Wilcox, 31, a business owner from Trelewis, near Merthyr Tydfil, said: “The health minister had said there was no crisis. Well I think perhaps some time needs to be spent in the A&E departments for them to see exactly what’s going on.
“It’s why I took these photos to show that ‘ I’m sorry, you are wrong in what you are saying.’”
Ms Wilcox said she met one woman who had been waiting on a trolley for more than 24 hours. However, she stressed that the nurses and doctors were “absolutely fantastic” and that none of this was a reflection on them. She had commented to staff that she could not believe the stress they were working under.
She added: “They said this is normal to us. All we can do is apologise day in, day out to people and try our best to try to deal with the situation we’re faced with.”
In a statement, Cwm Taf University Health Board, said: “We continue to manage a high level of demand at both Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil and Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant.
“The escalation levels are currently between three (severe pressure) and four (extreme pressure). Although we have plans in place to deal with winter pressures, the public can help us by choosing the appropriate health care service for their needs including one of our minor injury units, their GP, pharmacy or ringing NHS Direct Wales on 0845 46 47.”