A CANCER patient who fell in the street waited nearly three hours in a hospital car park because A&E was so busy.
Retired steelworker Albert Jones, 77, suffered injuries to his face when he fell on Englefield Avenue, Connah’s Quay, as he walked to catch a bus.
He was rushed in an ambulance to Wrexham Maelor Hospital, where he was already receiving regular chemotherapy sessions for bone marrow cancer.
Afterwards, his daughter, Karen Bibby, called to check on his condition, and learned her father was still in the ambulance in the car park.
Mrs Bibby, 52, told the Leader: “I called up and staff just said they were really busy and there was no room in A&E.
“He didn’t want to go to hospital in the first place and here he was stuck outside.”
Mr Jones was diagnosed with myeloma in 2011 and is treated at the Shooting Star Unit at the hospital on a weekly basis.
He is a carer for his wife Hazel, 72, and was on his way to Morrisons supermarket for essentials when he fell.
Mrs Bibby said: “He actually got back up and carried on regardless, but it was only when my brother went to visit him later on that he saw the state of his face.
“My brother called 999 and an ambulance took him to hospital, but he was stuck outside for two to three hours.
“Each time I called to check on him they said he was still outside, and I just went mad.
“I told them he has cancer and that he was due for chemotherapy the next day.
“He’s anaemic anyway, so his face has turned black and blue and is very swollen.”
Mrs Bibby, of Kings Road, Connah’s Quay, complained to Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) via its website and was told her concerns would be investigated.
She added: “The staff at the hospital were absolutely fantastic, and I appreciate that it’s not their fault.
“It’s the NHS in general not having enough nurses and doctors.”
A BCUHB spokesman said: “Due to patient confidentiality we are unable to comment on individual cases, although we can confirm that Mrs Bibby has contacted the health board and her concerns will be investigated.
“Since the Christmas period Wrexham Maelor Hospital, in common with many parts of the NHS in Wales, has seen a significant increase in the numbers of seriously ill patients admitted to hospital, many with respiratory conditions and flu.
“This has put increased pressure on beds as patients have needed longer stays in hospital than normal, which has resulted in some delays in admitting patients and within the emergency departments.
“The health board, with the Welsh Ambulance Service and colleagues in general practice and social services, are working closely together to minimise delays wherever possible.
“The health board has opened additional bed spaces within its hospitals to help alleviate some of the bed pressures.”