A WOMAN 'left confused' by her A&E experience at Wrexham Maelor says there is a 'serious issue' which needs to be addressed at the hospital.

Amber-Rose Rawlins, who is from Wrexham, first went to A&E in the early hours of Thursday, October 21 in 'severe pain'.

However, after a long wait, she claims she was told to come back on the Friday afternoon (October 22).

Amber then returned and had blood tests done on that day and was called with the results 10pm that night but she did not hear the voicemail the hospital had left on her phone until the Saturday morning.

She was told her bloods had 'come back abnormal' and that she 'needed to come back to A&E'.

Amber then went in again 7am Saturday morning and saw a doctor at 9am who told her she needed a scan and to not eat anything and to go back to the waiting room.

She waited in there until 7pm, being told doctors had been 'waiting for a ward to put her on'.

Amber said: "I was questioned about my weight more than the problem and asked if I choose to not have an appetite 'because you want to look slim', ignoring the fact it was because I was in pain. In the mean time, I kept asking if I was definitely having a scan that night as I fell faint as I hadn’t eaten.

"I was told to not go home, not eat and to continue just drinking water. When I had a Covid test done and got took to the ward I was told I was going to be put on an antibiotic drip and that I still couldn’t eat anything as they didn’t know if I was having a scan or not."

At that point, it was gone 10pm. By 11.30pm, Amber claims she was was told the scan would in fact be on the Sunday morning (October 24) and that she could now eat.

She added: "I had gone nearly 17 hours without food because I was told I could not eat as I was having a scan. I woke up on the Sunday morning to more antibiotics and was now told I was nil by mouth until the scan was done.

"I saw a consultant at 8am Sunday morning who told me I could go home and that a scan will be booked in as an outpatient in the next few weeks. I had been starved, left confused, suffering with anxiety and not knowing what is happening.

"I am still none the wiser to why I have been suffering with pain, have been made to feel as though I shouldn’t have been there and have gone from thinking I am having a scan twice and getting my hopes up, to being told it will now be in a few weeks.

"I tried to get reassurance whilst on the ward from the nurses, explaining I have been left confused and still with no answers to. I understand the NHS are busy and under staffed, but we have a serious issue here."

Amber added that she believed the issues lie directly with the hospital itself and not the individual memebrs of staff who work there.

In response, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’s executive medical director, Dr Nick Lyons, said: “We are committed to making sure all of our patients receive timely and considerate treatment wherever and whenever they access our services.

“If any patient feels this has not been the case we would urge them to take this up with our concerns team if they cannot resolve an issue locally.

“That way we can look at individual circumstances and pick out relevant details to see where we can improve as well as offer an adequate explanation to the patient.

“That said, our Emergency Department is extremely busy, resulting in longer waiting times than usual, despite the best efforts of our nursing and medical staff.

“Patients are always prioritised according to their clinical need and monitored throughout their time in our Emergency Department.

“Additionally we would ask the public to help us; patients who do not need full emergency hospital treatment may find they can get appropriate advice and care from other NHS services, including our minor injuries units and local pharmacies.

"Please visit the BCUHB website or contact NHS 111 for advice if you are unsure where to go.”