AMBULANCE bosses were said to have been just 20 minutes away from declaring a major incident after 11 ambulances caused gridlock outside Swansea's biggest hospital.

The chaotic scenes were sparked on Wednesday outside Morriston Hospital after health bosses claimed they had an unusually high number of 999 ambulances arriving within a short space of time.

There was further misery for patients, as a chemical spill was also reported on the same day within one of the operating theatres at the site.

An Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board spokeswoman said a total of 11 ambulances arrived in just one hour — but they couldn't explain why there was such a surge in emergencies.

A health worker described the situation as "dire," as patients were left onboard the ambulances.

One city-based health worker, who did not want to be named, said as soon as hospital staff were told the major incident was soon to be declared, they swiftly found beds for patients.

He said: "The ambulance service was 20 minutes away from calling a major incident, because at one stage there were 11 ambulances backed up by Morriston Hospital.

"When the service told the hospital, there were beds found for the patients.

"I think it's the first time it's happened — it's just ludicrous.

"They should be using all the empty beds they can instead of looking to close hospitals and beds.

"The ambulance service had to pay to bring in extra ambulances as cover.

"Patients were stuck there for hours, and I would have thought 50 per cent of them were elderly."

Pensioners were also affected by the problems in the operating theatre.

One Llanelli visitor, whose elderly mum was expecting to undergo an operation at the site, said the chemical spill was reported in the operating theatre at around 8am.

The man, who did not want to be named, said: "We were left sitting in the waiting room just two doors away from where the spill happened in the operating theatre.

"The hospital staff were walking around in masks.

"A specialist team had to come down from Shrewsbury to clean it up."

An ABM University Health Board spokeswoman said: "On Wednesday, we experienced an unusually high number of 999 ambulances arriving at Morriston A&E within a short space of time.

"We would normally expect to receive three or four ambulances per hour, but 11 ambulances arrived within one hour, at a time when the department was already very busy.

"Obviously it was important to assess patients clinically to ensure that priority was given to the sickest patients first, and this caused a temporary delay in bringing patients into the department.

"Beds became available as they normally would at the hospital through the discharge of patients from surgical wards.

She added: "We can't explain the reason for this increase in 999 calls, as they were all unrelated.

"The ambulance service and health board worked closely together to deal with the situation, and we are very proud of our staff, who worked extremely hard during this exceptional peak of emergency activity."

The spokeswoman added that the unusually high number of ambulances arriving at the hospital was not connected with the chemical spillage at the site.

"There was no link between the emergency pressures and the washer/disinfector spill which occurred in the endoscopy department," she said.

"External maintenance contractors were contacted and attended the department to assess the washer/disinfector.

"Alternative appointments were offered to patients whose procedures were cancelled."

A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We dealt with a high volume of 999 calls in a short period of time in the Swansea area on Wednesday.

"Senior officers from the ambulance service were deployed to Morriston Hospital to work with hospital staff in order to monitor the delivery of patients to A&E and ensure they received appropriate treatment as quickly as possible.

"The trust did not declare this a major incident."

elizabeth.perkins@swwmedia.co.uk