Everyone is aware of the incredible pressure the Welsh NHS is under. An operation backlog, workforce shortages, terrible moral, looming industrial action, rising flu rates, aging population, unable to discharge patients into care are part of a perfect storm that is leaving our health service on its knees. Poor beleaguered staff are working under intense pressure daily, made all the harder that it comes after two years of battling coronavirus.
Nowhere does that pressure manifest itself more than in A&E with the emergency department at Wales' largest hospital, UHW, really feeling the pinch. Despite changes to try and manage the situation there is little staff on the ground can do to counter the perfect storm they are against.
Sam Smith-Higgins, from Cwmbran, took her 87-year-old mum into UHW on November 26, with suspected sepsis. She decided to chronical her experience on Twitter in the hope of raising awareness of the plight affecting staff and patients. Her story reflects the brutal reality that so many people in Wales have experienced trying to access emergency healthcare. Despite her experience, Sam is keen to praise the effort of staff on the ground who were "very apologetic" and "busy".
