An ambulance has spent an astounding 28 hours waiting outside Morriston Hospital in Swansea, Wales, due to a declared "extraordinary incident" stemming from severe delays.
The Welsh Ambulance Service reported that at one point, there were 16 ambulances queued outside the hospital's emergency department. This issue also affected multiple healthcare facilities across Wales, particularly in the Swansea Bay health board area.
Officials urged the public to only call 999 for emergencies that were "life or limb threatening" due to the strain on ambulance resources caused by prolonged patient handover delays.
Additional managerial and clinical support was deployed to Morriston Hospital to address the situation, but some patients were asked to arrange alternative hospital transportation if an ambulance was unavailable. The Welsh Ambulance Service apologized for the inconvenience and encouraged the public to use services judiciously.