Grandmother with terminal cancer 'abandoned' in hospital storeroom for 48 hours after it ran out of beds

A grandmother with terminal cancer says she felt 'abandoned' after being left in a hospital cupboard for 48 hours. Pam Smith, who has stage four cancer, was forced to sleep on chairs because there were no beds available when she went into Royal Gwent Hospital in South Wales.The former primary schoolteacher, who was diagnosed with the disease in August this year, went to hospital in September on the advice of medics after she developed a high temperature while undergoing chemotherapy.The 81-year-old initially had to wait on a chair in a public area, but after her family raised concerns about her being immunocompromised and at risk of infection, she was moved into a storeroom by staff.Ms Smith, whose cancer has spread from her bowel to her stomach and liver, claims she was left to wait there for two days and forced to lie on three plastic chairs so she could sleep.The grandmother-of-seven told ITV News she felt 'abandoned' by the NHS, adding: 'there was just no one there for me at that point in time.'Her daughter Rebekah said her mother's experience was 'very, very upsetting'. She said: 'No one at that age when they feel that ill should be lying on a chair for hours, especially when going through cancer and being on chemo.'It can rapidly go downhill and become life-threatening.' The 81-year-old initially had to wait on a chair in a public area, but after her family raised concerns about her being immunocompromised and at risk of infection, she was moved into a storeroom by staffMs Smith is now receiving palliative care but doctors have told her that this Christmas could be her last.A spokesman for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: 'We are truly sorry for Ms Smith's experience and the distress this caused her and her family.'Our services are caring for very high numbers of patients and are under significant pressure. 'However, this is not a standard of care that we accept - no patient who needs a bed should have to spend time in such uncomfortable conditions.'The Aneurin Bevan University Health Board added that it contacted Ms Smith's family to apologise for their experience and that they are taking steps to increase the availability of recliner chairs and other comfort items, including pillows, at the Royal Gwent Hospital.The Welsh government said: 'The circumstances described are unacceptable. No one should receive care in a corridor or other inappropriate space. Patients deserve safe and dignified care.'We are taking action to tackle the causes of overcrowding, improve patient flow and discharge, and strengthen care closer to home.'We are also introducing a consistent national approach to measuring and reporting corridor care, alongside action to ensure it does not become an accepted or routine part of healthcare in Wales.' In January this year an investigation revealed that the scale of corridor care in the NHS has led some hospitals to install plug sockets and call bells in walkways as people are spending so much time there.Senior staff told the Health Services Safety Investigations Body they had invested in areas like corridors because they had no choice but to continue using them for patient care. The grandmother-of-seven told ITV News she felt 'abandoned' by the NHS, adding: 'there was just no one there for me at that point in time' Pam Smith (left) and her daughter Rebekah (right) shared that the experience was 'very, very upsetting'In its report in January, the patient safety watchdog called for a nationally agreed definition of temporary care environments, including corridors, offices and storerooms, and urged the NHS to improve its understanding of when and how these spaces are being used. In October, leading doctors warned that ministers must take immediate action to 'avert disaster' in A&Es this winter with two-thirds 'unsafe' and almost all woefully unprepared.The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) said current government plans 'won't cut it' as dangerous overcrowding, corridor care and unrelenting demand will create a 'perfect storm'. NHS England data shows there was an average of 3,310 patients who received corridor care each day in September, with 2,549 in A&E departments and 761 in other hospital areas.This is up from an average of 2,865 per day in August, made up of 2,297 in emergency departments and 568 in other areas.Additionally, the number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England from a decision to admit to actually being admitted stood at 50,582 in September, up from 44,951 in August.The RCEM said it 'beggars belief' that hospitals are going into winter with almost 1,000 fewer beds than last year when an estimated 500 patients died every week due to overcrowding.An NHS England spokesman told ITV: 'Caring for people in corridors is unacceptable, which is why we are taking action to totally eradicate it by sending in a crack team of clinicians to hospitals under the most pressure.'