A 100-year-old woman with a severe head injury had to wait a gruelling 20 hours to be seen by a doctor at A&E in Swansea. The woman, from the Ravenhill area of the city, had fallen in her home while on the way to answer her front door on Tuesday, March 28.
In her fall, she unfortunately hit her head on a table, which caused a five inch, deep cut across the back of her head, her carer said. Whilst the carer administered first aid, she advised the elderly woman to press her medical alarm and a medic from St John Ambulance was called - and immediately advised she should be taken to hospital.
The woman, who unfortunately has no family in Swansea, was taken to Morriston A&E by her carer as no ambulances were available - and the pair arrived there and checked in at around 6.30pm on Tuesday evening. Shockingly, the elderly woman wasn't seen by a doctor until around 2pm on Wednesday afternoon - almost 20 hours later. You can get the biggest Swansea news stories straight to your inbox with our newsletter.
Read more: Man describes 'nightmare' 30-hour wait in University Hospital of Wales A&E in Cardiff
The woman's carer explained: "She fell into the table by the television when she got up to answer the door. Her head was bleeding badly, we got through towel after towel after towel. I told her to press her button [medical alarm] and the fall team from St John Ambulance came and they said she needed to go to the hospital, so I drove her up to Morriston. She's not got any family locally, her nearest relative is her elderly sister in Cardiff.
"We got there and we had to sit in the waiting area. It was awful, absolutely awful. There was a lady next to us who looked like she'd had her head smashed in, and there was a girl on the floor having a fit. There were people everywhere, it was chock-a-block it was so busy.
"We were there overnight and I had to ask a nurse to bring her some water and something to eat. We didn't see a doctor until the following afternoon."
The woman and her carer have praised the hard work of the "exceptional" nurses and medical staff on duty at Morriston Hospital but expressed concern over the extensive waiting time - and just how busy A&E was. WalesOnline understands the woman is now recovering from her injury at home and continues to be visited by her carers.
A spokesperson for Swansea Bay University Health Board said: "Like all Emergency Departments, Morriston Hospital ED is often very busy. All patients are triaged on arrival and staff will always prioritise those with the most serious and life-threatening illnesses and injuries.
"Unfortunately, due to the volume of very unwell patients attending our ED, others can face significantly extended waits after they have been triaged.
"We would ask people to consider alternative ways of getting help when they are able to. They can go to the NHS Wales 111 website to check symptoms and get advice on next steps.
"If they need mental health support they can ring 111 and choose Option 2 to get through to a team of mental health practitioners.
"They can also go to their local pharmacy for advice and medication for many common ailments and conditions."
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