The family of a grandmother who spent 20 hours in a metal chair in A&E after suffering a stroke have said she would rather have a "painless death" than go back.
The 86-year-old has been left scarred by the "harrowing" incident at the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff.
The pensioner blacked out on Tuesday, October 4, after experiencing symptoms similar to a heart attack and was told to go to the hospital after ringing her GP at 9am in the morning.
Her GP thought she may be experiencing a heart attack and told her to visit the emergency unit immediately, Wales Online reports.
Her grandson explained: "My grandmother asked if she should phone an ambulance to which the GP replied: 'No because you'll be waiting three days for it to arrive and I want you seen now'.
"The problem was all my family were on holiday at the time and I was in Newcastle so she had no choice but to ring for a taxi."
The gran, from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, arrived at the hospital at around 7pm with 50 people in front of her in the queue and was left waiting hours just for her blood pressure to be checked.
He added: "And then it was another six hours before a nurse saw her and took some blood," he added. "It wasn't until 2pm the next day where she actually saw the doctor and went through what had happened.
"So essentially my grandmother was left on a cold, hard metal chair with no access to food or water other than a snack vending machine for around 20 hours.
"The poor woman is 86 and had to sit there for almost a day before finally seeing a doctor and getting a result – is this really the state the NHS has come to? And this was on a Tuesday night – not a busy Friday or Saturday."
It was discovered she had suffered a mini-stroke due to her very high blood pressure.
Her grandson added: "My grandmother is now saying she won't go to the hospital again no matter what happens to her. Instead she said she just hopes that she dies a painless death. It absolutely breaks my heart.
Welsh Conservatives leader Andrew RT Davies shared the Barry pensioner's experience while in the Senedd earlier this week.
He said: "It is simply unacceptable for people like my elderly constituent to suffer like they did, feeling that a painless death is the best she can hope for after spending a day in A&E and being told that an ambulance is luxury which she would simply have to wait hours for.
"Labour have the levers of government, they have the power to fix the Welsh NHS, and they've had it for 25 years. Sadly it is patients and staff who suffer the consequences of Labour’s historic mismanagement of the Welsh NHS."
A spokesman for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said "We apologise for the delays within our emergency unit which have been under significant pressure for some time resulting in longer waits for patients.
"Our staff are working tirelessly to provide appropriate care for patients but we appreciate the experience could be better. We are working collaboratively with colleagues from local authorities and Welsh Government to identify ways in which we can alleviate these pressures on the system.
"While health and social care services remain under pressure we ask that the Cardiff and Vale community continue to access emergency care in the appropriate way and make the most effective use of our hospital.
"Our emergency unit and minor injuries unit remains a phone first before attending service and we would ask the public that if they do have an urgent, non-life-threatening emergency to call NHS 111 Wales free from a mobile or landline.
"By doing so a call handler will assess your condition and, if appropriate, a clinician from CAV 24/7 will call you back for further assessment and provide access to urgent care in the most appropriate place."
