Long waits, rude staff and inadequate care are all criticised in a new report outlining patients' experiences in the accident and emergency departments run by Hywel Dda University Health Board earlier this year. The report, compiled and written by the Hywel Dda Community Health Council, discusses more than 80 patients' honest responses to a questionnaire on their experiences in A&E at Glangwili hospital in Carmarthen, Withybush hospital in Pembrokeshire, Bronglais hospital in Ceredigion and the minor injuries department at Prince Philip hospital Llanelli from August, 15 to September, 15.
The Community Health Council is an independent watchdog for the NHS within Wales and aims to encourage and support people to voice their experiences, ideas and concerns around NHS services in the country. Locally, the Health Council said Hywel Dda University Health board had informed the public of "pressures and challenges" earlier this year and had confirmed some people had been waiting hours within a department or outside in ambulances. The Health Council asked patients to share their truthful experiences in A&E departments, so that issues or potential issues could be addressed.
Several patients praised the "amazing" and "patient" staff working at the A&E sites but others criticised their "judgmental" attitude - and questioned why so many patients had hours and hours to wait to see a doctor, nurse or other medic. Though people's experiences in A&E are unique to individual circumstances, the report certainly paints a distressing picture of what it's like on a typical day in A&E.
