A woman walked out of a hospital after waiting more than 15 hours in A&E to be seen - saying she “may as well have been in pain in bed at home”. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, told of her stressful experience on Friday night and into Saturday morning.
The 22-year-old claimed she waited more than 15 hours and it was so busy that the wait would have gone on even longer. She says the emergency department was filled with patients, including many tourists, who were told that the wait would be “17-hours minimum”.
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in Bodelwyddan, Wales, issued an apology about the woman's experience and said it was busy at weekends despite the “best efforts” of staff. It comes off the back of calls that were made for an “urgent improvement” at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd following a second damning report.
The woman, who has a heart condition, gets nasty migraines, feels dizzy and loses her balance. She rang NHS Direct on Friday and they advised her to go for a scan so she went to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, report NorthWales Live.
She said: “There were about 50 people in the waiting room. I got there at 8pm on Friday. I ended up leaving at 11.30am the next morning because I hadn’t been seen.
“At about 1am (early Saturday) a nurse had come out to the waiting room and said it was going to be a 17-hour wait - minimum - to see a doctor and there was only one doctor on duty. So everyone got upset and there was a bit of a mutiny where a load of people walked out. I just thought it was ridiculous.
“If I was going to be in pain I’d rather be in pain in my own bed. I’ve got meds at home that I take for my symptoms.” She reported that there were several people sleeping on the chairs and on the floor.
The delays sparked an angry response from some patients and she felt sorry for the frontline staff who had to bear the brunt: “There was police there, there was people who were drunk shouting things.”
She added: “The NHS does an amazing job. I want to bring attention to how they’re struggling. Hopefully someone with the powers that be will do something about it. I don’t necessarily blame the staff because obviously they are really overworked and it’s not their fault.
“Me personally I just blame the lack of attention to the hospital. I’m originally from South Wales and maybe it’s different funding in North Wales.”
Dr Nick Lyons, Executive Medical Director at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “We are very sorry to hear one of our patients is unhappy with the care they received and we would encourage them to contact us directly with any concerns. Our Emergency Departments were extremely busy over the weekend, resulting in longer waiting times, despite the best efforts of our nursing and medical staff.
“We urge the public to help. Patients who do not need full emergency hospital treatment may find that they can get appropriate advice and care from other NHS services, including minor injuries and local pharmacies. Please visit the BCUHB website if you are unsure where to go.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said hospital funding was based on population and needs, reported Mirror Online. “We cannot comment on individual cases. Our expectation is that all patients to access care in Emergency Departments are triaged, assessed and treated in order of clinical priority, and in a timely manner. Health Boards are funded through an allocation formula that takes account of the population and needs of the area.”
In 2020, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board were allocated additional funding of £30m per year to run from 2021-2022 to 2023-2024, which was to be directed as supporting the performance of unscheduled care and planned care improvements. This included developments in diagnostics.
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