Unfortunately, I was in the position where I had to go to A&E twice in April, at the Grange University Hospital in our region.

Upon entering the A&E the first time, I, and others waited nearly 18 hours to see just a doctor. All staff, were absolutely excellent, professional and lovely when you saw them, but the A&E at the Grange is clearly not fit for purpose in any shape or form.

I spoke to paramedics outside during my stay. The 21 ambulances for the majority of the time that I was there were outside.

However one of the paramedics said that in Cardiff University Hospital there was a one-hour turnaround. In the Grange, they were experiencing eight to 10-hour turnarounds.

This is because the A&E at the Grange was never meant to be an A&E. It was deemed for critical care.

As it happens, in A&E with me at the time, there were two former cabinet members for social care from Monmouthshire County Council, both baffled and appalled by the scenes that they saw.

Right up to the end of the development stage for the Grange, that area was meant to be for critical care only. It was not meant to be the main accident and emergency unit in the region and now patients are paying the price for this last-minute change of heart by the Welsh Government and health board.

I was clear upon entering that the size of it was far too small. There were patients having to stand up who were passing out, other patients had to bang on doors for help.

There was no care during that whole time in the A&E. There was an 82-year-old next to me who had waited 14 hours with a hernia poking out of him and decided to go home after 14 hours.

My second trip was a slight improvement at a mere 13 hours at A&E to see a doctor.

However, this time I was moved to same-day emergency care, which was fantastic, but there were three people in it on the other side of the hospital.

It’s clear that things like this should be used to relieve A&E and take the strain off the A&E at the Grange, it’s little ideas and changes like this that could go a long way to elevating the huge issues and pressures facing the A&E.

March wait times show that 48.2 per cent of patients exceeded the four-hour wait time target in the emergency department. This is up by more than five per cent since the month prior and 20 per cent were waiting more than 12 hours, again up on the previous month.

The government and health board need to get a grip on this situation to restore trust in our local health services and ensure that people feel confident in attending their local and A&E and don’t experience what I witnessed.