An 82-year-old woman had to sit in a chair for 36 hours in A&E while suffering symptoms of pneumonia over Christmas.
Jayne Lloyd Lewis, 56, took her mother, Ann Davies, from Grangetown, to hospital on December 23 at 10.30pm after a GP heard crackling on her chest and her oxygen levels had dropped. The family were extremely worried about her having suspected pneumonia, so they took Mrs Davies to the University Hospital of Wales' (UHW) A&E department on Friday evening.
Jayne explained that her mother was admitted into triage quite quickly at 11pm. However, from there, she claims that her mother was made to wait in a chair until 5.30am, until she was able to see a doctor. She said: "People were coughing in A&E and I was worried about my mother catching anything else on top of what she already had. I made sure that we both wore masks. I sat with her until she saw a doctor."
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Jayne said that the first six-hour wait was carnage as they were mixing vulnerable people with "drunks who were causing chaos" in the A&E department. Speaking on her experience, Mrs Davies said that she felt "so ill" while waiting for a bed. She added: "There was so much fighting going on - it didn't feel like a hospital. I felt like I was in another world. I can't believe that people my age have got to wait with pneumonia surrounded by all of these drunks."
After the doctor saw Mrs Davies at 5.30am, he suspected that it could be pneumonia, and transferred her to another site in the hospital. Mrs Davies was placed into another chair while she waited to get a chest X-ray. Jayne went home to get some rest and returned at 12pm on Christmas Eve, to find her mother still in the seat waiting for an X-ray. Jayne claims that she asked a nurse why her mother hadn't gone for an X-ray, only to be told her mother was not down on the list. Jayne added: "The nurse came back and said she wasn't down for one but she wrote one up for her and took her down for an X-ray at 12.30pm."
At 6pm on Christmas Eve, Jayne's mother still had not received her results. As Jayne had worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 23 years and her sister is an ex-nurse, she claimed that they knew that if their mum didn't have the results by 7pm the medical team would go home. She added: "We begged the nurses to bleep them [the medical team] to bring the results and within half an hour we had them. They called us in to say she had double pneumonia, and she needed to go on a nebulizer because her breathing wasn't great - they needed to get more oxygen in the blood and she needed to get on antibiotics immediately, steroids and given a bed."
Later that evening, Jayne was on the phone with her mum who said she was still waiting for a bed and "feeling awful" as she was not yet on a drip or getting medication regularly. Jayne added: "I went up there drained and tired and I just burst into tears saying 'please somebody just help my mother, she's 82 years old and has double pneumonia surrounded by people coughing which could put her at risk.'" She said that she was helped by "a lovely nurse" but that she and her sister had to chase up staff for their mother to receive the treatment she needed. She added: "I feel bad as I know how much pressure the nursing staff are under, it's not like they're sat around doing nothing... they're just so run off their feet. We don't blame the nurses, it's the system."
She claims she then begged the nursing staff to allow her mother to sit on a reclining chair due to her discomfort until they got her a bed, which the nurses helped to organise. When Jayne returned at 8am on Christmas Day, Mrs Davies was still in the reclining chair. She was later given a temporary bed in the afternoon - 36 hours after entering the hospital - before being moved to a ward and later discharged a few days later.
Despite the ordeal, Mrs Davies said that the staff were kind to her once she entered the final ward - on her fourth day - at UHW. She said that a nurse brought her "things to help wash" as she hadn't been able to brush her hair or wash herself for the first three days. She added that one nurse also allowed her to see her beloved 15-year-old dog, Bellamy. Mrs Davies said she wasn't feeling great as she was having injections in her stomach and allowing her to see Bellamy was greatly appreciated. She added: "It was so lovely, they were kind to me."
Jayne feels that the current NHS system is causing a serious fault in the care of patients. She said that she and her sister dread to think how their mother would have coped without them being there to push for her basic care. She added: "It was frustrating not being able to do anything and feeling helpless. It was the most stressful time and Christmas was just written off for us."
Responding to Mrs Davies' and her family's experience at UHW, a spokesperson for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said: “We are very sorry to hear of Mrs Davies’ experience when in our care.
“While we are unable to comment on individual cases, the health and social care system across Wales is experiencing significant and sustained pressure, which is having an impact on patient flow within our hospital and waiting times in our Emergency Unit. Our staff are working incredibly hard, often in difficult circumstances to provide the best and most appropriate care, but acknowledge that this is not at the standard we would want.
“We are working closely with colleagues across the health and social care system and Welsh Government, to identify ways in which we can alleviate pressures and improve the patient experience.
“We would welcome the opportunity to discuss the concerns raised by Mrs Davies via our dedicated Concerns Team so we can thoroughly explore and attempt to resolve the issues she has experienced.”
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