Grandfather waiting for hospital bed endures uncomfortable 40 hours in A&E on hard plastic chair

A 63-year-old man has described enduring a 40-hour wait on a hard plastic chair in A&E at a hospital in Merthyr Tydfil.

Martin Nicholas attended the emergency unit at Prince Charles Hospital after suffering jaundice, fatigue and severe stomach pains.

After arriving at 9am on September 1, Mr Nicholas had to wait until 2am on September 3 for a bed.

He described the emergency department as "manic", with patients filling up the corridors and growing increasingly frustrated.

Although unable to comment on individual cases, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board apologised to anyone who has experienced a long A&E wait and added that "hospitals across south Wales, have been under extreme pressure over the last few weeks" due to a rise in Covid cases.

Mr Nicholas was advised by his GP to visit A&E after he reported feeling unwell. When he arrived, he was seen for an initial triage but then had to wait on a plastic chair for 40 hours for a bed to open up on a ward.

The wait meant the grandfather from Mountain Ash went close to 30 hours without eating, as he was expecting surgery.

Mr Nicholas said: "You couldn't really sleep on those chairs in the waiting room as they were so hard, and I didn't want to miss my name being called.

"When I finally got a bed I told the staff that I couldn't have carried on like that for much longer. I think I would have walked out. I could have collapsed and I don't think anyone would have noticed."He claimed that there were several people in A&E in the same position as him - including an86-year-old woman who had waited 43 hours before being admitted onto a ward.

He added that there just was not the bed capacity for the number of patients there.

"There were doctors running around trying to find spare cubicles to put people in to assess them," he said.

Mr Nicholas believes the easing of Covid lockdown restrictions and the restarting of some routine NHS care was behind the number of people in A&E.

"A lot of people are more reassured with the situation now and are more likely to go to A&E than before," he said."But people who weren't prepared to wait were asking if they could leave and come back tomorrow, but a lot of them were told they'd have to go through the whole process again from the beginning."Mr Nicholas explained he was eventually given a bed on a ward at 2am on September 3, where he was finally able to sleep.

He added: "It does make me think twice about going to that hospital - and being in that situation - again. But I was told to go there to potentially have surgery. I thought I'd have a bed waiting for me."His son, Mat Nicholas, said his dad has not been to the doctors much in his life and is a very fit and healthy person. He said: "When he says he's feeling ill you know something isn't right."So for him to be sat in a plastic chair overnight with no sleep and no bed or blanket offered to him is just ridiculous."

The Welsh Government target is for 95 per cent of patients to be in A&E no longer than four hours before being admitted, transferred or discharged - while no patient should wait more than 12 hours.However, latest statistics for July 2021 show that only around half (52.6%) of patients at Prince Charles Hospital were there for four hours or less.

A spokesperson for Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, which is responsible for Prince Charles Hospital, said: "We are unable to comment on individual patients but apologise to any patient who has experienced a long wait in any of our emergency departments."Prince Charles Hospital, along with all emergency departments and hospitals across south Wales, have been under extreme pressure over the last few weeks as the significant rising Covid rates coming through our emergency departments pose challenges for our services and teams."This, along with the rise in patients testing positive when arriving at our emergency departments, have a huge impact on the department."Our staff are working extremely hard under difficult circumstances. All patients visiting our emergency departments are triaged on arrival and patients are then seen in order of emergency."Therefore, there may be delay for those patients that are not urgent. In addition, our clinical staff regularly review all patients waiting to ensure that any change of condition is also managed appropriately."

They went on to thank the public for their support and asked them to help by using health services wisely and taking steps to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

They urged anyone with a non-emergency medical issue to contact their local pharmacy or GP.