PATIENTS are claimed to have spent around 36 hours waiting on trolleys in a Swansea hospital's A&E department.

It is understood some elderly patients were left waiting in corridors within the casualty unit at Morriston Hospital as staff were unable to find beds for them on Monday morning.

Some patients were also said to have faced further waits in ambulances outside the site before being transferred.

The trust said the weekend had been very busy and they had also been forced to close two wards because of a bug which had added to the problems. It said two patients had been isolated overnight in A&E for clinical reasons.

The claims have emerged as figures for June show the hospital's A&E department was the worst performing in Wales for hitting its four-hour patient time targets.

Only 77.8 per cent of patients were seen within the timescale — even though the Assembly says 95 per cent of patients must spend less than four hours in A&E departments. A Morriston health worker, who did not wish to be named, said: "On Monday morning patients had been waiting in the casualty department of Morriston Hospital for more than 36 hours.

"They had to wait before being unloaded from the ambulances and were placed on trollies in the corridors of the casualty department because there were no beds available in the hospital.

Winter

"Morriston Hospital is the worst- performing A&E department in Wales against the four-hour target — it's nearly 78 per cent, which is only a one per cent improvement.

"It's the only hospital in Wales which cannot achieve 80 per cent — and it's the quietest time of year. The performance now is even worse than mid-winter.

"Senior managers are under pressure to do something about the situation as previously we were doing well on four-hour targets on the two sites," she said.

An Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board spokeswoman added: "We can confirm that A&E in Morriston Hospital was very busy over the weekend, particularly on Sunday, when there were 245 attendances — about 25 per cent higher than average.

"This coincided with the closure of two wards because of diarrhoea and vomiting over the past week.

"This has had an effect on patient flow, including A&E, which has meant some patients waiting longer than we would have liked, and we can only apologise for any delay.

She added: “Two patients attending A&E over the weekend were also suffering from D&V (diarrhoea and vomiting) and were isolated overnight in A&E cubicles for clinical reasons.

"Staff at Morriston Hospital have been working closely with the ambulance service to minimise delays, and some patients have been treated and transferred to Singleton and Neath Port Talbot Hospital.

"Infection control staff are working hard to deal with the issues on the two wards to enable the beds to reopen as soon as possible."

elizabeth.perkins@swwmedia.co.uk