A MAN who says he was left on a hospital stretcher for 18 hours with no pain relief just one day after a major operation has filed a formal complaint to Aneurin Bevan Health Board.

Lee Griffiths was discharged from Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny on December 4 after a successful surgery to fix his knee.

The surgery involved breaking a bone and putting in two metal pins to prevent it from dislocating.

After returning to the same hospital’s Accident and Emergency department with ankle pain the following day, he claims he was left on a stretcher in a corridor without pain relief.

The coach driver claims nurses told him he couldn’t receive a morphine drip until he was moved onto a ward.

“I was in so much pain I didn’t know what was happening,” he said. “I had a major operation the day before and to be left like that.

"I was crying in pain and shouting for someone to give me something.

“Apparently, they had no beds – it was unbelievable. I was in agony. I was in so much pain a nurse asked me if I suffered from anxiety.”

The 24-year-old claims he was left without pain relief from 7.30pm on Tuesday, December 5 to Wednesday, December 7 at 1pm.

Also after nurses moved his crutches, he added, he was left unable to use the toilet for around 10 hours while in “tonnes and tonnes of pain”.

While crediting the surgeons for their brilliant work, he said he feels let down by the staff in A&E.

He claims that at one stage a member of staff "closed the curtain" on him because he was asking how long until he could have pain killers.

“I felt neglected by them," he said.

After being discharged from Nevill Hall Hospital on Thursday with morphine medication, Mr Griffiths made a complaint to the Health Board over his experience.

A spokesman for the health board said: “It would be inappropriate to comment on individual cases.

“We are sorry that Mr Griffiths is upset with some aspects of his care and we would ask him contact us directly so that we can discuss his concerns.”