Urgent improvements are needed at The Grange Hospital amid fears it won’t be able to cope with an imminent influx of patients.
That was the call from the Member of the Senedd for South East Wales, Natasha Asghar MS, when she spelled out a series of issues at the hospital in the Welsh Parliament today (June 14).
Natasha saw first-hand the problems at the Labour Government’s ‘state-of-the-art’ facility when she went to A&E last week with a swollen foot and bug bits after taking advice from her GP.
A huge backlog of ambulances, shoddy signposting around the hospital, a ridiculously small waiting room and inadequate parking were just a few of the issues she witnessed.
One man waited 17 hours in A&E at the hospital in Cwmbran before giving up and going home with another woman Natasha spoke to waiting around five hours.
Natasha told the Senedd: “It became very clear, very quickly, that the problems started before you even reached the hospital.
“As someone who’s foot was double the size, and in pain, I had to park a very, very, long way away from the main building in an off-shoot car park as there was nothing close to the door.
“I was able to hobble to the entrance, but how can any of us, actually, expect someone who's severely ill, disabled or elderly to walk all the way that I did?
“One woman I'd spoken to, who was there with severe chest pains, was forced to battle with public transport to get to the hospital because she was told there were no ambulances available.
Simply trying to find A&E is like trying to walk through a maze that even Harry Potter would find difficult because there was just clearly no signposting from the entrance to the actual A&E section.
“I walked through the main entrance, then wandered around various corridors and departments, spoke to various members of staff before being guided to the right place.
“Now, this was my first time at the Grange hospital, and for anyone who's not been there before, when you arrive at A&E, you're greeted with a shockingly small waiting room, which is clearly not fit for a hospital covering an area such as south-east Wales.
“I was forced to sit on the doorstep because there just weren't enough chairs inside. I sat there watching an ever-growing number of ambulances waiting with patients inside and on board for a very long time.”
She called on Labour’s health minister, Eluned Morgan MS, to make a statement in the Senedd as soon as possible about what her government is going to do to make The Grange fit for purpose.
The South East Wales MS told the chamber she feared “a disaster” would unfold if no action was taken, especially with more patients set to be heading to The Grange.
Commenting outside the chamber, Natasha Asghar MS said:
“The Grange was billed as Labour’s state-of-the-art flagship hospital when it opened, but it is abundantly clear it isn’t living up to expectations.
“All of the staff at the hospital were absolutely wonderful and were working tirelessly under immense pressure, but the hospital itself was an utter shambles.
“It simply cannot deal with the patients it has got now, so I fail to see how the hospital will be able to cope when patients from St Woolos and the Royal Gwent are re-directed there.
“Labour’s Health Minister must pull out all the stops to address the concerns of patients and make sure the hospital is properly equipped to deal with its current patients, as well as the imminent influx.”
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AS yn dweud wrth y Senedd bod angen gwelliannau brys yn y Faenor
Mae angen gwelliannau brys yn Ysbyty’r Faenor yn sgil pryderon na fydd yn gallu ymdopi â chynnydd tebygol mewn cleifion.
Dyna oedd galwad yr Aelod o’r Senedd dros ranbarth Dwyrain De Cymru, Natasha Asghar AS, pan dynnodd sylw at gyfres o broblemau yn yr ysbyty yn y Senedd ddoe (14 Mehefin).
Gwelodd Natasha y problemau gyda chyfleuster ‘modern’ Llywodraeth Lafur ei hun pan aeth i’r adran Damweiniau ac Achosion Brys yr wythnos diwethaf ar ôl cael cyngor ei meddyg teulu am ei throed oedd wedi chwyddo ac â brathiadau pryfaid arni.
Ymysg y problemau amlwg oedd ciw mawr o ambiwlansys, arwyddion di-drefn o amgylch yr ysbyty, ystafell aros llawer rhy fach a dim digon o leoedd parcio.
Bu un dyn yn aros am 17 awr yn yr Adran Damweiniau ac Achosion Brys yn yr ysbyty yng Nghwmbrân cyn penderfynu mynd adref, ac roedd menyw arall y siaradodd Natasha â hi wedi bod yn aros am bum awr.
Dywedodd Natasha wrth y Senedd: “Daeth yn glir iawn, yn gyflym iawn, bod y problemau’n dechrau hyd yn oed cyn i rywun gyrraedd yr ysbyty.
“Roedd fy nhroed ddwywaith ei maint arferol, ac roeddwn i mewn poen, ond roedd yn rhaid i mi barcio’n bell iawn, iawn o’r prif adeilad mewn maes parcio ar wahân gan nad oedd unrhyw leoedd yn agos at y drws.
“Llwyddais i hercian at y fynedfa, ond sut gall unrhyw un ddisgwyl i berson sy’n ddifrifol wael, yn anabl neu mewn oed gerdded pellter o’r fath?
“Roedd yn rhaid i un fenyw y siaradais â hi, oedd yn dioddef poenau mawr yn ei brest, deithio i’r ysbyty ar drafnidiaeth gyhoeddus gan nad oedd ambiwlans ar gael.
“Mae ceisio dod o hyd i’r Uned Damweiniau ac Achosion Brys fel cerdded drwy ddrysfa y byddai hyd yn oed Harry Potter yn cael trafferth ymdopi â hi gan nad oedd unrhyw arwyddion clir o’r fynedfa i’r uned ei hun.
“Cerddais drwy’r brif fynedfa, a chrwydro o gwmpas coridorau ac adrannau amrywiol a siarad gyda gwahanol aelodau staff cyn cael fy nhywys i’r lle iawn.
“Dyma fy ymweliad cyntaf ag Ysbyty’r Faenor, ac i unrhyw un sydd ddim wedi bod yno o’r blaen, pan fyddwch chi’n cyrraedd yr Adran Damweiniau ac Achosion Brys, fe welwch ystafell aros syfrdanol o fach. Mae’n amlwg yn llawer rhy fach i fod yn addas ar gyfer ysbyty sy’n gwasanaethu ardal fel y De-ddwyrain.
“Roedd yn rhaid i mi eistedd ar garreg y drws gan nad oedd digon o gadeiriau y tu mewn. Eisteddais yno yn edrych ar nifer cynyddol o ambiwlansys yn aros gyda chleifion y tu mewn iddynt am amser hir iawn.”
Galwodd ar Weinidog Iechyd Llafur, Eluned Morgan AS, i wneud datganiad yn y Senedd cyn gynted â phosibl am yr hyn y bydd ei llywodraeth yn ei wneud er mwyn gwneud Ysbyty’r Faenor yn addas i’r diben.
Dywedodd yr Aelod o’r Senedd dros ranbarth Dwyrain De Cymru wrth y siambr ei bod yn ofni bod “trychineb” wrth droed oni bai bod camau yn cael eu cymryd, yn enwedig gyda mwy o gleifion yn dod i’r Faenor.
Yn rhoi sylwadau y tu allan i’r siambr, dywedodd Natasha Asghar AS:
“Cafodd Ysbyty’r Faenor ei labelu fel ysbyty modern Llafur a oedd yn torri tir newydd pan agorodd ei drysau, ond mae’n amlwg nad yw hynny’n wir.
“Roedd pob aelod o staff yr ysbyty yn gwbl hyfryd ac yn gweithio’n ddiflino dan bwysau enfawr, ond roedd yr ysbyty ei hun yn llanast llwyr.
“Dyw’r ysbyty ddim yn gallu ymdopi gyda’r cleifion sydd yno nawr, felly mae’n amhosibl gweld sut bydd yn gallu ymdopi pan fydd cleifion o Ysbyty Gwynllyw ac Ysbyty Brenhinol Gwent yn cael eu hailgyfeirio yno.
“Mae’n rhaid i Weinidog Iechyd Llafur wneud popeth o fewn ei gallu i leddfu pryderon cleifion a sicrhau bod adnoddau digonol ar gael i’r ysbyty er mwyn trin y cleifion sydd yno ar hyn o bryd, ynghyd ag ymdopi â’r cynnydd sydd ar droed.”
