A man was ‘forced to stand for 17 hours in agony’ with no chairs or pain killers available in the NHS Grange University Hospital’s A&E waiting room.

“My 58-year-old husband stood for hours with a slipped disc in his back and was not even offered pain killers,” said Lenay Krowitz, a Chepstow resident.

“The waiting room was too busy, there were about five ambulances outside that people were using to sit in and even with that there were people spilling out of the doors.

“I have never seen anything like it in my life. Why is a 15 hour plus waiting time become what is standard for this hospital?

"We already have to drive over half an hour to get there from Chepstow.

“It is so unnecessary – they are clearly serving too many people or there is some kind of staff shortage.

“There was one man sat inside when we first arrived who told us that he had been in there for three days.

“He said he had paid his taxes all of his life and was disgusted by how he was being treated.”

“We have hospitals closer to us in Chepstow, why can’t we just use them?”

The Grange University Hospital became Gwent’s only A&E unit when it took over from both the A&E department at the Royal Gwent Hospital and the minor injuries unit in Abergavenny’s Nevill Hall in November 2020.

Since then, the £370 million hospital has struggled to meet the demands of the large area, with the hospital’s own staff admitting concern at the number of patients coming to the hospital.

“Another worry of mine is that with the number of patients in the waiting rooms, there must be a huge amount of pressure on the hospital staff.

“How thorough can they do their job if they are seemingly facing such high levels of stress?” said Mrs Krowitz.

Lenay’s husbands experience is not unique however, with’ hundreds of others sharing similar experiences.’

Sarah Bowen, 64, lives in Caerleon, and waited for 16 hours in ‘agonising pain from kidney stones’ in the A&E department at the Grange University Hospital, before being sent to the Royal Gwent.

“My son, who was waiting in the car for me as there was no chairs available, came inside to get someone to give me pain killers.

“I arrived at 8am and did not leave until half past midnight.”

“I felt like an animal trapped in a zoo. There were just people everywhere.”

Lots of these issues plan to be resolved by April 2025, with the expansion of this hospital’s emergency facilities.

A new three-storey A&E building with a ground floor triage area is set to be added to the existing facilities.

By expanding the accident and emergency (A&E) department, builders hope to relieve the waiting times for patients as well as patient outcomes.

The Aneurin Bevin University Health Board has been contacted for comment.