AN OBUDSMAN has criticised the way an 82-year-old patient was treated by the Cardiff and Vale health university board.

A complaint was made by a lady about her mother's experience at the Medical Emergency Assessment Unit of University Hospital of Llandough.

The issue was that the patient's stroke was not promptly diagnosed and that she had to sit on a plastic chair for over a day to await medical attention.

It was also said that additional wards were not opened to ease the pressure on beds and allow the patient to be properly admitted.

The problem was seen as being that the escalation plan was not followed and that no action was taken to solve the capacity problems which led to the patient having to sit on a plastic chair.

However, the ombudsman said that although she was not treated with the applicable guidance, her clinical outcome was not compromised

He suggested that the health board apologise to the patient and remind staff to adhere to the stroke guidance and escalation plan.

They should also show how the bed capacity situation at times of high demand had been addressed since February 2014.

Cardiff and Vale university health board were unavailable to comment at the time of going to print.