Patients in Swansea are being put on beds "in front of fire exits" that have "no access to oxygen", because hospital wards are so stretched, a nurse working in the area has claimed.
She claimed that the health board running city hospitals had never recovered from last year's winter bed crisis and that this year's was worse.
The nurse, who did not want to be named, claimed members of staff felt they "have no say".
In response, Swansea Bay University Health Board said in a statement it was 'extremely busy', and urged people to stay away from its emergency department except for in the most urgent of cases.
The nurse claimed: "Our wards in surgery are budgeted to cater for between 23 and 26 beds.
"There is one ward currently looking after 32 patients.
"There are patients being put on beds in front of other patients, in front of fire exits, in treatment rooms.
"These beds have no access to oxygen, they have no call buzzers, there is no extra staff for them, there are no extra toilets for them.
"The staff have no say."
The nurse claimed this wasn't the case in just one ward or even one hospital, but it was happening "across the patch".
She said she believed the situation was unsafe.
"We had a fire at Singleton recently .
"We feel we have no say, the safety of patients is out of our hands and yet we are responsible.
"If something happens under our care we face being struck off. For the staff it is bad but nothing like as bad as for the patients.
"These are very sick people. People are coming out of surgery with epidurals.
"It isn't one ward, or one hospital, it is across the patch.
"Anyone visiting can see for themselves. We are in crisis and we can see no way out."
The health board stated that Morriston Hospital 's emergency department was "under particular pressure" dealing with urgent cases.
In a statement it said: "It’s winter and our hospitals are extremely busy.
"Morriston Hospital’s emergency department is under particular pressure dealing with urgent and acute cases.
"Please don’t come to our ED unless it is an emergency such as chest pains, breathing difficulties, severe burns, a suspected stroke, heavy blood loss, loss of consciousness or deep wounds.
"If you need urgent medical attention these are the alternatives: the minor injury unit at Neath Port Talbot Hospital, GP out-of-hours/111 telephone service or pharmacies.
"Norovirus, also known as the winter vomiting bug, is also circulating and can make you feel very unwell.
"However, the symptoms should be managed at home – drinking water little and often helps - and it will usually pass within a couple of days."
The claims come after 18 ambulances were alleged to be queuing up outside Morriston Hospital on Wednesday, December 11.
A paramedic working in the Swansea area called the situation "ridiculous" as he said "people are dying in the community".
The paramedic, who did not want to be named, said: "People are dying in the community waiting for them to turn up because there are not enough beds in the hospital. Certain hospitals have closed recently and there is limited space in geriatric care, meaning there is nowhere for the patients to go.
"It has been particularly bad this last few weeks. It's getting ridiculous now.
"Ambulance staff are coming into work and doing 12 hour shifts and are so tied up they're not getting breaks, sometimes not until nine hours into the shifts.
"You drive into Morriston car park and it is hard to park the ambulances there.
"If this gets much worse you'll get to the point where you can't park an ambulance anywhere near the entrance."
He explained that paramedics needed to be out in the community.
"These paramedics need to be in the community - people are dying in the community," he added.
"It means if an elderly person has a nasty fall and is in lots of pain, they could be waiting hours and hours for us to get there - and then if a life threatening emergency comes up, they will be delayed further.
"It gets to the point where you'll only get a bed if someone in hospital dies.
"Sometimes extra rooms, like old contamination rooms, are opened to house patients inside the hospital but even then, it is paramedics having to look after those patients because the nurses are so stretched."
The inappropriate calls received by the ambulance service:
Responding to this, Swansea Bay University Health Board's chief operating officer, Chris White, said: "We are very sorry for the ambulance delays outside Morriston Hospital, and would like to assure patients and the public that everything possible is being done to alleviate the situation.
"When the healthcare system is under intense pressure, as it is at present, it can lead to delays in admitting patients on to wards, which in turn can result in ambulances queuing to offload patients into the emergency department.
"While patients are still being cared for on ambulances, their condition is regularly checked and in many cases early-stage treatment is given.
"Ambulance service colleagues and emergency department staff work closely to ensure these waiting patients are cared for appropriately.
"Swansea Bay University Health Board and the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust are working together to optimise ways to reduce the pressure on both the hospital and the ambulance service, and free up more ambulances to attend other patients in the community."
