Concerns over long A&E waits at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd

Concerns have been raised about long waits faced by A&E patients at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd.

It comes after a politician raised the case of a man who went to the emergency department at the Bodelwyddan hospital complaining of chest pains and faced a lengthy delay in being seen.

Vale of Clwyd MS Gareth Davies also highlighted a woman who waited 24 hours on a hospital corridor before being treated.

Speaking in the Senedd yesterday (Tuesday), the Conservative MS said he believed the issue could be due to pressures on the department but requested a fuller explanation.

He said: “Anecdotally, I’m hearing from constituents about their experiences with excessive waits at Glan Clwyd Hospital’s A&E department.

“I heard from a patient with a heart condition who arrived at Glan Clwyd’s A&E department with severe chest pains and had to wait for an excessive length of time and being handed painkillers while he waited.

“Eventually, he was discharged and informed he would need a CT scan and angiogram, which couldn’t be booked in for another two to three months despite the urgency of this condition.

“Another lady waited three hours in an ambulance and then spent the next 24 hours in a corridor.

“Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board issued a red alert as recently as May this year, as their emergency departments are currently under extreme pressure, and extremely long waiting times are to be expected.

“I’m unsure what has caused this recent spike in excessive waiting times at Glan Clwyd, but it needs to be addressed urgently.”

In response, Trefynydd (Leader of the House) Jane Hutt said: “Reducing waiting times is a priority for us. We’ve invested £170 million per year to address the long waits that arose due to the pandemic.

“Two-year waits are 70 per cent lower than they were at the launch of our recovery plan—that’s a huge achievement from April 2022.

“But we know that demand for NHS Wales care has increased markedly in recent years, and we have heroic NHS staff dealing with two million contacts every month, a phenomenal amount for a population of just over three million.

“Progress has been made. We recognise that waits are still too long, and we’re supporting health boards to drive further improvement.”