Cancer patient spent night ‘in a cupboard at hospital’

A CANCER patient was forced to spend the night in a “cupboard” at a major Welsh hospital.

- LOIS MCCARTHY AND TWM OWEN

The woman, who undergoes regular weekly intensive chemotherapy, had been taken to Newport's Royal Gwent Hospital after becoming unwell at home.

Upon arrival at the medical assessment centre, she required isolation from other patients at the busy unit, which family described as “overcrowded.” It has been reported that the only available space was a tiny side room, characterised by relatives as a “cupboard”, where she was obliged to remain overnight in a plastic chair. The hospital stated that she received care in a “small assessment room’.

The patient’s mother has now spoken about the incident.

“My daughter, who is in her fifties and has breast cancer, was in a cupboard at the Royal Gwent for a night as she had to be kept away from all the people who were sleeping on the floor and window sills as there were no beds for them,” she said.