Senior staff at Wales' newest hospital insist it's safe - despite claims that it is dangerous and failing. Since it opened early in the pandemic, Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran, Torfaen, has been under fire over concerns about long delays, overcrowding, staff shortages and the quality of its care. Criticism has been especially intense on social media, with some in the comments even urging people to stay away.
Bosses admit staff feel "devastated" that patient confidence could be dented but insist the hospital performs better than many others on patient safety, including survival rates. They are urging those who are seriously unwell not to be afraid to seek help. As dawn breaks over Cwmbran on a clear autumn day the mist in the valley lifts, revealing sunlit hills and the imposing sight of the hospital - the serene picture is in stark contrast to what's happening inside.
The PA announcement in A&E is clear - somebody's life is in danger and they'll soon be arriving by ambulance. But all eight beds at the Emergency Department's (ED) resuscitation unit, where the sickest patients go, are already full. Staff have to decide quickly which patient to move.
But two similar "crash calls" have already come in by ambulance, as well as someone who walked into an already-full reception having a suspected heart attack. Overall there are more than 90 patients in the department with the longest wait about 18 hours. "We're currently over capacity," says Dr Zoe Morgan-Pittard, who is so busy that she's placed stickers on her arms to remind her who she's been assessing.
"We've had to move three patients already who probably aren't well enough. "But the sickest patients have to take priority - we're having to make fluid decisions. "We're putting patients in any extra space we can find... but there's a lot of block and very little flow.
"Everybody is working hard, but unfortunately the hospital isn't big enough." One of those extra spaces is located behind some cubicles at the back of the A&E. Margaret Giles, 84, from nearby Croesyceiliog, has spent the past nine hours on a trolley there, after slipping and injuring her hip. "It's not satisfactory – but needs must," she says.
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