Terminally ill grandmother left waiting in hospital storeroom for 48 hours

A terminally ill grandmother was forced to sleep on plastic chairs inside a hospital storeroom while she waited 48 hours for treatment.

Pam Smith, who has stage four cancer, was kept in limbo after attending Royal Gwent Hospital in south Wales with a fever in September, she told ITV earlier this week.

A spokesperson for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board has apologised for her ordeal. They said: “We are truly sorry for Mrs 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 81-year-old from South Wales initially waited on a chair in a public area but was shifted to the storeroom after concerns were raised about infection risk because she is immunosuppressed.

The spokesperson confirmed they had also taken steps to make recliner chairs, pillows and other comfort items more readily available at the hospital.

“We would like to thank Mrs Smith and her family for their constructive engagement with the Health Board,” they said.

The grandmother of seven was diagnosed with cancer in August 2026 and the disease had spread from her bowel to her stomach and liver.

In September, she was undergoing chemotherapy but developed a high temperature and was told by medics to go into hospital.

Mrs Smith told ITV she felt “abandoned” by the system, adding: “We had three plastic chairs. I was tired so we set them out so I could lie down and sleep.”

The case came amid warnings from Dr Ian Higginson, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, who said hospitals have 1,000 fewer beds compared to last winter.

He told the Commons Health and Social Care Committee on Thursday: “We are going into winter with our departments in big trouble already, and many on their knees.

“Our patients are still in corridors.

“We know that about 16,000 of our patients in England are dying in excess of that expected, linked to long waits in our departments.”