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.
Read more: Live updates as nurses go on strike today in Wales for the first time
Among the experiences outlined in the report, much was said about long waiting times. One person stated they'd waited 33 hours for medical care, as stated in the report by the Health Council: "Many people we heard from spent many hours waiting in the emergency department ranging from 45 minutes to 33 hours. Only one person spent 10 minutes waiting before being treated but this was because the patient was very ill."
Quoting what the patient said on their questionnaire, the report added: "The wait of 33 hours in A&E with no bed and having to spend majority of the time on hard chairs in reception." According to the report, another patient waited for more than 14 hours over two days: "I waited five hours be seen I was sent home overnight and returned the following day and waited nine hours to be seen," the patient said.
Another said: "I waited five hours for an ambulance to arrive despite having a broken ankle. My neighbour had to take me to hospital as the ambulance didn’t know when it would arrive. I was on the floor until my neighbour found me". Another person added: "I spent 12 hours in an ambulance outside the A&E department before being admitted to the hospital."
'I had a disgusting experience in A&E - the nurse was so unkind and judgmental'
Other questionnaire respondents raised concerns about how uncomfortable A&E was. "[We need] some sort of comfortable waiting area for patients waiting for a bed. A comfortable chair? A little more privacy," said one questionnaire respondent. "There was no water to drink or food available - this is concerning especially when people are waiting for many hours or diabetic," another added.
Some also raised concerns about the quality of care they received from over-stretched and "tired" medical staff. "I have gone through a complaint procedure. Appalling treatment," one respondent said. "Given results of bloods that were not even sent. Which I only realised when another Dr tried to add another request two days later to lab. I could have believed my three-monthly drug levels were up to date. I did initially give a good o-line follow up review as both doctors seemed pleasant and polite - but pleasant does not equal acceptable medical practice."
Another respondent said: "I had a disgusting experience in this A&E department. When I arrived, I knew it would be a long wait. There was nowhere to sit in the waiting room, so I had to stand despite feeling so unwell. However, I do totally appreciate the pressure A&E is under so this is not what I am referring to.
"When I was taken through to be triaged around four hours later, the nurse 'taking care' of me was extremely unkind. Many years ago, I self-harmed prolifically, as such I am scarred all over my body. The nurse when she saw my scars was visibly disgusted and went 'Oh God' in an unkind manner. Her whole attitude towards me changed. She told me it was my fault if getting blood drawn was difficult, which I do appreciate is a consequence of being scarred but the attitude of the nurse was so unkind and judgemental.
"This attitude prevailed whilst treating me. I do appreciate she is overworked, and it must be extremely stressful to be there, but I was a patient who came in vomiting blood with severe stomach pain so unrelated to my mental health issues and I truly believe even if it was for mental health issues, I should have been treated respectfully regardless"
"The doctor was rude," said another respondent. "[He] couldn't care less about my daughter - she almost developed sepsis due to his neglect."
The report outlined that many patients felt they could have received better care if doctors had had more time for them. The report stated: "Some people felt that they could have received better care if the doctors were not so busy and if there had been more doctors available. One person stated: 'The doctors didn't seem to care and were rushing us during the consultation'. They felt that the care they received was not as good as it should be, and communication was poor.
"One person who completed the survey said that they listened to some people’s stories whilst they were waiting in A&E and this made them feel uneasy: 'Listening to very sad stories about people waiting for hours, no beds, no fresh water, I had to keep going into the toilet to drink some water'.
"'One poor young lady has sepsis, had no fluids going into her, she had to sit in a very hard chair, and you could see she just wanted to lie down'
"Awful sad experience in that waiting room, like a war zone. I heard one story after another. I felt for what happening to the health service. But staff were so busy and the doctor we saw was fantastic."
'The staff were amazing'
On the other side of the coin, some respondents praised the kindness and patience of staff. One respondent said: "I couldn't fault anything," whilst another said: "The staff were amazing, were patient and very apologetic about the wait to be seen and the lack of space."
Another respondent said: "My mother-in-law was seen immediately, all appropriate tests done, had a bed, staff are a credit to the NHS, food was tasty and excellent. Patient care first class, doctors’ kind helpful in every way, thank you staff at Glangwili A&E you are wonderful!"
What people said about how to improve A&E
The report explained: "People told us some areas where the health board could improve the patients experience when visiting emergency departments in future.
"[One person said]: 'Improve communication between staff and patients.' [Another said]: 'Provide sufficient parking for patients'.
"People said they waited to be seen but they did not know where they were in the queue to be seen. It would have been helpful to know how many were in front of them. Had people been given this kind of information it might have helped them be ready for a long wait: 'If you were informed you may wish to find a shop to buy food or a drink if you knew you had to wait several hours'."
"[Another respondent said]: Provide more care packages to alleviate bed blocking, [and another said]: 'More triage staff so can be seen quickly for assessment.'"
Have you spent time in an A&E department managed by Hywel Dda University Health Board this year? You can join the conversation by sharing your experiences, positive or negative, in the comments below this article.
READ MORE
How much nurses get paid in Wales: The full salary scale from £20,758
Carmarthen hosts its first Winter Pride festival for the LGBTQ+ community
Women unaware of alternatives to HRT that could help through menopause
Cost of flu jab cut by £5 amid fears of high number of cases this year
Two drinks to avoid and one thing to do before bed to sleep well after drinking
