An elderly woman spent her final moments alone in a hospital corridor, shielded from view only by a blanket placed over her face. That is the distressing scene Nadia Wainwright says she witnessed inside the A&E department at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in Denbighshire on Monday evening.
Nadia, from Henllan, near Denbigh, had rushed to the hospital after her partner fell ill. She found herself caught in what she describes as an “extremely overcrowded” department, with patients lining corridors in chairs and beds as families kept anxious watch wherever there was space to stand.
Opposite where Nadia and her mother-in-law were sitting, an “elderly, frail woman” lay on a trolley, reports North Wales Live.
Nadia recounted that the woman passed away in full view of other patients, until a paramedic stepped in to place a blanket over the woman’s face to maintain her dignity.
The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board stated it could not comment on individual patient circumstances due to confidentiality, but acknowledged that such an incident would be “deeply upsetting for families, other patients, and members of the public”.
Nadia described the moment she and her mother-in-law realised the woman was unresponsive, and their attempts to alert staff.
“My mother-in-law and I noticed that the patient did not seem to be moving,” Nadia said. “We’d had no sleep, and we couldn’t think (straight) as there were so many people, and my partner was seriously ill. Then we saw the paramedic walk past, and we were trying to get his attention about the lady.
“She appeared to be in distress and was making grunting noises. Staff were walking past, and she did not appear to be receiving attention. She had passed away alone in the corridor with no privacy and no one holding her hand. I know NHS staff are under huge pressure. No patient – especially an elderly and vulnerable person – should be left alone in a corridor in such circumstances.
“The paramedic then realised that she had passed away and began shouting for staff assistance, and it then took approximately five minutes for staff to respond and attend to the patient. During this time, the paramedic pulled the blanket over her face.
“This was extremely upsetting for us to witness, especially as I have never seen a deceased person before. The situation was handled in a way that felt distressing and lacked sensitivity, and it has had a significant emotional impact on us.
“I can’t stop thinking about it. I’m so angry. I couldn’t leave my partner by himself, as I was feeling unsettled by how long it took staff to respond to the deceased lady. It was absolutely chaotic there. There were no beds, no blankets.”
Nadia explained that her mother had to assist another elderly woman in her eighties in the A&E department to empty her catheter, fetch a drink, and contact her family. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here
She added: “Some of the managers and directors of the health board should spend some time on these corridors. Perhaps they could sit with these patients. No one should be left to die unattended like that.”
Tremeirchion councillor Chris Evans commented: “There is no way that anybody should be dying in a corridor whilst staff are walking past. We can put as much money into Betsi, which we want. We can build a hospital in Rhyl with a measly 14 beds. That will do nothing when we’ve lost all the beds we have in the whole of Betsi. The problem isn’t getting sorted. People are dying without any dignity.”
Rhyl councillor Brian Jones said: “This is another horrific example of the flaws in A&E in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. When will the senior management get out of their denial (insisting) that everything is all right?”
Angela Wood, the board’s executive director of nursing and midwifery, responded: “We are aware of a post being shared on social media describing a distressing experience within the Emergency Department at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd. We cannot comment on individual patient circumstances for reasons of confidentiality; however, we recognise that witnessing a medical emergency or a patient who is critically unwell can be deeply upsetting for families, other patients, and members of the public.
“We want to be clear that providing care with dignity, compassion, and respect is fundamentally important to us. Corridor care is not something we want for our patients, and we fully understand the concern and anxiety it can cause when people see this happening.
“We recognise that too many patients within our Emergency Departments are waiting longer than they should, and that this can have a real and distressing impact on individuals and their families. We know that at times some patients are not receiving the standard of environment or experience we would want for them, and we are absolutely committed to addressing this.
“In common with NHS providers across the United Kingdom, our Emergency Departments are under significant and sustained pressure, necessitating the temporary use of corridor care for some patients. Additional clinical oversight is provided in these areas to ensure patient safety is maintained.
“A significant programme of improvement is underway across the health and social care system to address the causes and consequences of long waits in our Emergency Departments. This includes placing experienced clinicians at the front door to assess and stream patients more quickly, improving early access to specialist teams, strengthening senior clinical decision-making, and expanding care closer to home so that only those who need emergency hospital treatment attend our departments.
“We are also working closely with local authority and health and care partners to address delays in discharging patients who are medically fit to leave hospital, as this has a direct impact on patient flow and crowding.”
She further stated: “We have now been contacted directly by the author of the social media post and will be speaking with them to understand the circumstances in more detail.”
A spokeswoman for the Welsh Government said: “We are aware of the social media post and are seeking assurance from the health board on the circumstances.
“More broadly, delivery of care in undesignated or non-clinical environments is not acceptable. It compromises patient dignity, safety, and staff wellbeing.
“We aim to end this practice with system-wide reform and have clearly outlined our expectations for health boards to ensure patients move efficiently through hospitals and return to their communities, reducing avoidable harm.
“We have also targeted an additional £200 million to better manage staffing needs, same day emergency care, and community services.”
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