“I thought I was going to die”: North Wales man’s 44-hour corridor wait before emergency gallbladder surgery
A man from north Wales says he feared he was going to die after spending 44 hours on a corridor at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd before surgeons removed his gallbladder, which had become gangrenous.
Steve Jones, 68, from Deganwy, is one of dozens of patients whose experiences are revealed in an undercover investigation by S4C current affairs programme Y Byd ar Bedwar, broadcast tonight at 8pm.
New figures disclosed in the investigation show almost 89,000 patients were treated in corridors or other non-clinical environments in hospitals run by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board between 2022 and the end of October 2025.
Mr Jones went to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd’s emergency department in October 2025 with severe stomach pains and was placed on a corridor after triage.
“It was like a warzone,” he told Y Byd ar Bedwar. “I thought I was going to die, to be honest. It was frightening.”
His partner Haf Poole, a former nurse who worked at Wrexham Maelor Hospital until retiring in 2020, stayed with him throughout and challenged a decision to discharge him after two days.
“He wasn’t safe on the corridor,” she told the programme. “There were no monitors, no drip stands, nothing really.”
After she intervened, Mr Jones was sent for a scan, given a diagnosis and moved to a ward bed overnight before undergoing surgery on his third day in hospital.
[On his third day in hospital, Steve underwent surgery to remove his gallbladder – which had become gangrenous.
Credit: Y Byd ar Bedwar]
Ms Poole said the surgeon told her it was the worst gallbladder he had seen in years.
“If Steve had gone home, he would have had sepsis, he would have died,” she said.
Mr Jones said: “It’s definitely shaken me and I’d be scared of going back there.”
Journalists on the programme also spoke with 40 people who said they had witnessed or experienced corridor care in BCUHB hospitals, and filmed patients receiving treatment in emergency department corridors at both Ysbyty Glan Clwyd and Ysbyty Gwynedd.
The investigation found patients received corridor care for almost ten hours on average at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd last year, the longest average wait among hospitals in north Wales.
The longest individual corridor stay was recorded at Ysbyty Gwynedd in 2024, with one patient spending more than five days on a corridor.
A nurse at Ysbyty Gwynedd, who spoke anonymously to the programme, said treating patients in corridors had become normal.
“It’s every day. It’s daily now. You go to work expecting it,” they said.
“I’m sure things are being missed because there’s no way you can get the best care when you’re a patient on a corridor.”
“As an experienced nurse, you sometimes feel guilty that you have to ignore someone because it’s so busy on the corridor.”
“All I can say is the staff are genuinely doing their best, they really are trying but it’s not good enough just to rely on that. Something needs to change.”
Dr Phil White, Deputy Chair of the Welsh Council of the British Medical Association, said the situation was dangerous.
“We’ve been saying for some time as a medical association that this is unacceptable, it’s dangerous for patients,” he said.
“There simply aren’t enough staff to cope with the workload.”
[Dozens of patients were filmed receiving care on corridors in the emergency departments at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd and Ysbyty Gwynedd.
Credit: Y Byd ar Bedwar]
He raised concerns about patient monitoring and dignity.
“Some of these patients are on drips, maybe antibiotics, and people in those circumstances need to be monitored – which is very difficult for staff,” he said.
“First of all, there’s no privacy when you’re receiving treatment like this. You would at least want to be behind curtains but these patients are just on display along the corridor.”
“It’s not fair. There’s no dignity there at all.”
In a statement, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said it recognised that too many patients were waiting too long in emergency departments.
“Unfortunately, some patients are cared for in non-designated or corridor spaces,” the statement said. “We have put in additional clinical oversight to help ensure patient safety however we know this can be a distressing experience for patients, their families and our staff. We are very sorry to anyone who has experienced long waits or received care in these circumstances.”
The health board said improving patient experience in its emergency departments was its top priority and that a team of external experts was working within the health board bringing experience from across the UK.
The Welsh Government said corridor care was not acceptable.
“We are clear that the delivery of care in undesignated or non-clinical environments is not acceptable. It compromises patient dignity, safety, and staff wellbeing, and we are determined to end this practice through system-wide reform,” its statement said.
The Welsh Government said it had placed an experienced intervention team into north Wales to support the health board as part of the level 5 special measures process, and had committed an additional £200 million across Wales for staffing, same-day emergency care and community services, with a further £2.7 million specifically for Betsi Cadwaladr to reduce pressure on emergency departments.
Y Byd ar Bedwar: Gofal ar Goridorau is on S4C tonight at 8pm and is also available on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer, with English subtitles.
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