A grandmother on end-of-life care had to wait outside her home in an ambulance for two hours after being discharged from hospital.
Ambulance staff weren't able to get bed-bound Shirley Hassan, 86, into her home because they were not told there were steps leading to her front door, which required special equipment that they did not have, her daughter said.
Mrs Hassan's daughter, Carmen Andrews, 56, claimed that no risk assessment was carried out to determine whether there would be difficulty getting her mother into her house in Birchgrove, Swansea.
Miss Andrews said her mother, who lives alone, was at the back of the transport ambulance for two hours in total, by which time three more transport ambulances had turned up to assist Mrs Hassan.
Miss Andrew said the ordeal was 'heartbreaking' and at the time feared her mother would pass away in front of the whole street at the back of an ambulance.
"I couldn't believe was was going on - it's disgusting. I just don't know why she would be sent home without knowing if she could get in her home," Miss Andrews said.
"She is very poorly and her dignity has gone out the window, everyone could see what was happening. Just because someone is elderly, it doesn't mean they should be treated any differently."
Miss Andrews explained that her mother started receiving end-of-life care at home about a month ago when her legs "went from beneath her".
However, because of the coronavirus pandemic, she was moved to Ty Olwen Hospice at Morriston Hospital.
A few weeks later she was moved to Ward 12 at Singleton Hospital after coronavirus caused Ty Olwen hospice to close.
"I was phoned up by staff on the ward who said they could send her home with care twice a day, but I said no, leave her at hospital because she needs more than twice-a-day care. Then communication broke down," said Miss Andrews.
After about two weeks, Miss Andrews said she began liaising with Swansea Palliative Care Team - also known as Spice - to discuss the next stages to get her mother home with the support Miss Andrews felt she needed.
Miss Andrews knew her mother would leave Singleton Hospital to return home on Friday. She said she assumed a risk assessment would be carried out and ambulance staff would have no problem getting her mother into the house.
"The ambulance pulled up with her in back and had realised they weren't able to safely get her up the steps and into her house," explained Miss Andrews.
"They said they hadn't been told anything about the steps."
Miss Andrews said that after about an hour, more transport ambulances turned up to try and help.
When the fourth ambulance turned up, they had the correct equipment available to allow Mrs Hassan to be hoisted into her house.
Miss Andrews said the care her mother received was always at a high standard, however she believes miscommunication led to her mother being stuck at the back of an ambulance for so long - something she felt could have been avoided.
She added:"My mum was a nurse herself for about 40 years and is a very caring person. She wouldn't have wanted anyone to be treated like that. I just don't want this to happen to anyone else."
A spokesman for Swansea Bay University Health Board said: "We cannot comment on individual patient cases without patient consent, however, we place great emphasis on putting detailed arrangements in place for our patients when they return home.
"When maybe this has not been a good patient experience, our priority is to liaise directly with the patient and their family, apologise for any errors and distress caused and help put things right."
