"No respect or dignity"

Hello Jayrt59

My name is Victoria McCrory and I am the Assistant Clinical Services Manager for Causeway ED. I am very sorry to hear that your dad has been unwell recently and had to attend the emergency department. I am extremely apologetic that the standard of care which your dad received fell below both your expected standards, and the standards of care which I would expect to be upheld within the department. As a daughter myself, I can only begin to imagine how distressing and concerning this was for yourself, and your family, but mainly your dad.

As you note ED is very busy as are the staff. The department has remained under sustained pressure for a long period of time. We continue to work closely with our site co ordination and patient flow teams to try and facilitate as much movement through the department as possible, to try and prevent patients from having to be placed in corridors and allow patients to receive the right care, in the right place at the right time.

Corridor spaces, which you rightly note, have reduced screens and space, which has a direct impact on maintenance of patient dignity and confidentiality. These spaces are only used when the department is in escalation, and no other suitable spaces are available. When patients are placed in these spaces, we do try and utilise mobile screens to improve dignity, however it is not ideal. Overcrowding also has a direct impact on the number of protected consulting areas which we have. This contributes to longer waiting times, and higher volumes of people waiting.

I am saddened to hear that you feel your dad was treated with no respect or dignity. This falls below the standard of care which I expect to be delivered, and does not align with trust core values or professional codes of conduct. I believe staff try to provide as high a standard of care that they can, within the circumstances they find themselves. This is extremely challenging at times, and a patient safety concern. This has been escalated to senior management and is discussed at governance meetings.

Thank you for leaving this feedback as it helps staff to reflect on the standards of care which we are providing within the department, and assists management with prioritising areas for improvement. I will ensure learning from this feedback is shared with all staff in the department via safety brief, staff meetings and noted at our next senior management meeting.

If you would like me to review your dads care in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me on the detail below. I would like to once again take this opportunity to apologise for your dads experience within the department, and I would sincerely hope that should he have to avail of care within our department again, this it is of a higher standard.

Yours Sincerely

Victoria McCrory

ACSM CAU ED

victoria.mccrory@northerntrust.hscni.net