Peter Fox condemns Grange Hospital patient delays

Elizabeth Davies' experience at the Grange University Hospital was condemned as "by far one of the worst I've ever heard" by Peter Fox, the Senedd member for Monmouth, who has vowed to raise the matter "directly" with the Welsh Government.

"Let me clear that Mrs Davies’ ordeal was wholly unacceptable and one that never should have happened," he told the Argus after receiving a letter from the patient's daughter.

Mr Fox also revealed health-related concerns make up an "eye-watering" 43 per cent of his office's case work.

Mrs Davies was taken to the Grange last Friday - and when her daughter called seven hours later for an update on her condition, she was "appalled" to learn her mother was still in the ambulance - one of several parked outside the hospital containing patients waiting for beds.

The health board has since apologised for Mrs Davies' experience and said wider issues with patient flow at the hospital - which opened in late 2020 - meant delays for patients at the front door.

The Grange University Hospital, in Cwmbran, opened in late 2020. Picture: Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (Image: ABUHB)

"As in other areas of Wales and the UK, the knock-on effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and staff shortages across health and social care are preventing the flow of patients through our hospitals, which results in longer waiting times in our emergency department," the health board said earlier this week.

Mrs Davies is currently recovering from her heart attack, but her daughter Pat Passaro has called for something to be done to address these wider patient flow issues.

Peter Fox, the Senedd member for the Monmouth constituency.

In her letter to Mr Fox, she said other Gwent residents had shared their own experiences of lengthy delays at the Grange, which she described as "heart-breaking and totally unacceptable".

Mr Fox said: "Worryingly, Mrs Davies’ ordeal is not an isolated incident - and in fact an eye-watering 43 per cent of my total case work correspondence is linked to constituents’ health-related concerns. This number suggests that there is serious concern among my constituents regarding health.

"I appreciate our NHS is under significant pressures, but basic principles of care - such as compassion and competency - are not rocket science and are absolutely vital for our health service to operate smoothly and efficiently.

"Let me clear that Mrs Davies’ ordeal was wholly unacceptable and one that never should have happened. I will now be raising this directly with the Minister of Health and the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, and will report back to her family swiftly."