PATIENTS had to wait up to two days on a trolley before a bed became available at Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr.
Concerns have been raised about care at the hospital after an inspection into care and dignity in the hospital.
Healthcare Inspectorate Wales found staff raised issues around the length of time patients were being forced to wait on trolleys.
As well as the incidents of people waiting up to 48 hours for a bed, in one case noted by the inspectorate, an elderly patient with a suspected femoral neck fracture was kept on a trolley for 22 hours.
Also, there was no system in place to inform waiting patients how long they may have to wait to be seen.
The report said: “A number of patients we spoke to on the unit were annoyed at the length of time they had been kept on a trolley as the trolleys were “very uncomfortable”.
“One male patient told us that if he had to spend another night on the unit, he would prefer to sleep on the floor instead of on the trolley.”
Further concerns were raised around the waiting area for the minor injury unit.
One patient in a wheelchair had been waiting for 20 hours and had been vomiting throughout this period.
During this time, she had not been checked upon by staff.
The Inspectorate said: “This highlighted a number of risks, not least patients in the sub waiting area deteriorating without staff being aware.”
Although the Inspectorate found that staff in the hospital were kind, many reported that it was difficult to provide a respectful and compassionate service for patients and relatives when the unit was under pressure.
They told the inspectorate staffing levels and skills mix is inadequate on the unit given the dependency of patients – particularly at night and on weekends.
On two occasions, the Inspectorate witnessed staff giving patients information about their conditions in public places.
A man was given a “potentially upsetting diagnosis” at the nurses’ station in the minor unit area and a woman was given her diagnosis and feedback by a doctor in front of other patients in the waiting room.
Meanwhile, the inspectorate also found a number of issues in the waiting room, including one female patient who had been waiting all night, reporting that her husband had been forced to spend the night in his car because he was so uncomfortable on the waiting room chairs.
HIW chief executive Kate Chamberlain said: “These inspections capture a ‘snapshot’ of the care received by patients. They have been designed to assess fundamental aspects of care such as dignity and care planning. We have received an action plan from Cwm Taf Health Board which addresses the issues we have highlighted.”
Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales East Lindsay Whittle said he had written to Cwm Taf Health Board about the issues raised.
He said: “It cannot be acceptable in 2013 to have patients within any accident and emergency department waiting on trolleys for up to two days for a bed to become available.
“Staff rightly raised concerns with inspectors but why was this issue not addressed well before the HIW went into Prince Charles Hospital?
“The report, which had positives about the relationship between staff and patients, also highlighted the fact a patient in a wheelchair was left in a waiting area for 20 hours, although clearly unwell, and that’s unacceptable.”
Allison Williams, chief executive of Cwm Taf Health Board, said: “The visit highlighted areas of good care but also unacceptable examples of care, which we have been working hard to address.
“We take these reports very seriously and, following the unannounced visit, we took immediate and concerted action to begin to address and remedy the concerns identified.
“Significant progress has been made and patients and staff are benefiting from a series of changes put in place in the emergency care centre, including the introduction of virtual ward rounds, new beds in the clinical decisions unit, a hot food service and a dignity questionnaire for patients.
“Cwm Taf Health Board is committed to not only providing an excellent level of care but doing so with compassion for the person undergoing treatment.”
Source: walesonline.co.uk
