Welsh health board urges public to avoid emergency departments

Ambulance service blames demand, staff sickness, and patient handover times for elderly man being taken to hospital on plank

The health board for the area where an 89-year-old man was taken to hospital strapped to a plank because no ambulances were available has said the flow of patients through its hospitals is blocked because hundreds of medically fit people have nowhere safe to be discharged to.

They have urged people to stay away from emergency departments unless their need is dire.