My dad died in agony after two days in a hospital corridor

A MUCH-LOVED grandfather died after his health deteriorated while spending well over two days in a chaotic hospital corridor.

- CONOR GOGARTY

Barry Rhys James, 64, was in agony as his feet turned black at Caerphilly county's Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr, but his needs were neglected for days, his family have claimed in a formal complaint.

Barry, a taxi driver who lived in Bedwas, was described by his daughter Holly James-Dryland as a “kindhearted and gentle” family man who “consistently put others before himself”.

He was admitted to the community hospital in Ystrad Mynach on the morning of January 6 with severely discoloured feet but was not given a bed until the night of January 8.

With blood no longer circulating to his feet, Barry suffered a cardiac arrest and died on January 10. The initial cause of his illness has not yet been confirmed.

Holly and her partner Shaun said there were missed opportunities where the hospital did not follow the instructions of its own doctors while Barry sat helplessly in a corridor watching his feet blacken.

Barry was in “absolute agony” and rolling around in his chair in the corridor of the medical assessment ward, said Holly, who said she was told by staff the ward had a capacity of 29 patients and that at the time of her dad’s treatment some 63 patients were crammed into the ward.

“The first medical professional we encountered, a triage nurse, said this was the worst period she had experienced in 23 years and that she wanted to quit,” Holly said.

Barry, who was a winger for Newport Rugby Club in his youth, had three children and two grandchildren.

Holly said: “Our dad wasn’t just our father. He played the role of our mother as well, stepping up and taking on the role of both parents. He did an outstanding job.

“He went out of his way to make sure his family were cared for and happy. Often it would be through small but meaningful gestures that showed how much he cared.”