A patient was left horrified after being detained on a mental health ward with no soap, "questionable" dirt marks on walls, and bins overflowing with cigarettes.
Pictures and video footage captured by the patient appear to show Ward 14, a psychiatric inpatient ward at Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend, in a sorry state of repair.
As well as taking pictures of dirt-stained walls in their bedroom the patient also filmed the unit's "disgusting" courtyard littered with hundreds of cigarette butts - despite the fact it has been illegal to smoke on hospital grounds since March 1, 2021.
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Another part of the video appears to show a power drill being left on a window sill in a so-called "safe" bedroom which is usually given to the most vulnerable inpatients on the ward. The patient alleges that workmen, who were fixing a window and had removed the pane, had left the tool in the room on their lunch break, risking the lives of suicidal patients and offering an "easy exit" for anyone wanting to leave.
The patient, who was detained in Ward 14 under the Mental Health Act in April 2021, said the conditions were so dire they were detrimental to their mental health. They described the ward as "unsafe and unsanitary" and alleged staff were "negligent".
"On the ward the conditions were disgusting. My room had questionable marks smeared on the walls and floor and my wash basin did not run hot water," they said.
"There was no soap available near the basin as there should have been. This was in the height of the pandemic. The courtyard was littered with cigarette butts and rubbish, the bins were overflowing, and the artificial grass was not secured properly causing a trip hazard .
"I spent eight days either sat alone, wondering if I would ever be released, or sat in the courtyard just taking in the dismal surroundings."
The distressed patient claimed that throughout their stay there was a "blatant disregard" for their feelings and alleged there was no proper assessment of their mental state.
"I was entirely ignored throughout my stay, making me feel invisible," they added.
"There is an appalling lack of funding for the NHS in general but especially within the mental health sector. For someone else who is genuinely struggling in life to be placed in such a place would only worsen their already poor mental health.
"I still worry daily that I will again be taken back to the ward and the ordeal brought on constant anxiety that I still struggle with.
"The cleanliness, outdated features, security, and lack of empathy among staff need to be assessed and rectified."
While they were on the ward the patient said they produced daily vlogs explaining their ordeal to send to friends and family who weren't allowed to visit.
In response to the claims a spokesman for Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board said: "Everyone in our care is entitled to expect that they're well looked after in a safe environment and we're sorry to hear that one of our patients feels we fell short of our usual standards.
"All of our wards are cleaned regularly to make sure they meet our strict health and hygiene standards. This has been all the more important during the Covid-19 pandemic where regular deep cleaning has taken place to reduce the risk of infection as much as possible.
"Despite this these have been highly challenging times for our teams and on rare occasions individual areas may not have been cleaned as thoroughly as we would expect. It appears that may be the case here and we would like to apologise for that.
"Any external workers carrying out improvements or repairs on our sites are bound by specific rules designed to ensure that the safety, dignity, and welfare of our patients is paramount. It is never acceptable practice to leave tools unattended in an area where patients can access them and we will be reiterating this so that it does not happen in the future.
“This ward is a mental health recovery ward, and is staffed by specially trained mental health practitioners and clinical staff at all times. On this ward, as on all others, we strive to provide a comfortable, dignified and safe environment for vulnerable patients. Communication is a key value to us and patients are informed and involved in decisions about their care as much as possible. If one of our patients feels that is not the case, we would always encourage them to raise those concerns with us or one of the independent advocates who are there to help so we can better understand how to help them recover.
"We take all concerns about our care seriously and always investigate fully when complaints are raised. As we have not yet received an official complaint from the person raising concerns here we would encourage them to get in touch with our complaints team directly so we can investigate this matter further and identify any actions that need to be taken."
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