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"Shocked at the level of rudeness"

About: Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital / Accident & Emergency (Emergency Care)

(as a service user),

I attended the A&E department very worried about my 4 month old baby. On arrival, the member of staff on reception was very rude and made my partner and I feel stupid for being there. I described what was wrong and they actually stood up and looked down at my baby who was in the car seat and then looked at me, to imply - they looks fine. Obviously it is not their place to be passing their judgement if anyone should be attending A&E or not, but we really felt we had to justify why we were there.

Following this, we were seen very quickly by a lovely nurse in the triage room. I can’t remember their name but they were calm natured and just someone who you want to be greeted with when you are in a panic about your sick child.

However, during this time, we were interrupted by another nurse who was just popping into the room to grab a piece of equipment. They proceeded to interrupt our conversation - I know I’m just butting in but do you actually mean they were projectile sick, lots of people say projectile and don’t mean it, it’s important it’s accurate information you are giving us.

This nurse had not been in the room more than 10 seconds to hear the full story before seemingly implying that I was over exaggerating. They did not know literally anything to why we were there. I was gob smacked I was being interrogated while bouncing my inconsolable/fevery/sicky baby around the room.

The other nurse and doctor that we then proceeded to see were both very professional, friendly and reassuring in a very worrying time. We were overall seen very quickly and my baby was closely monitored across the time that we spent there - which was comforting.

However, this was a very scary and vulnerable time for my partner and I. And I was shocked at the level of rudeness we experienced. I appreciate that in the A&E department there are potentially time wasters or people who could be seen by GP rather than this busy, strained service, but we were far from this.

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Responses

Response from Caroline Clark, Chief Nurse, Children's Division, NHS Grampian last month
Caroline Clark
Chief Nurse, Children's Division,
NHS Grampian
Submitted on 08/05/2025 at 11:19
Published on Care Opinion at 11:19


picture of Caroline Clark

Dear Aberdeen99,

I am really sorry to read this post and apologise for how you were treated. As worried parents this is not what you needed at such a stressful time. I am glad to note though that you did receive the help your baby needed, and hope that they are now on the way to recovery.

If you would like me to look into what happened please contact me at caroline.clark3@nhs.scot so we can make improvements to ensure that this doesnt happen to other parents seeking help from us.

Caroline

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Response from Kathryn Auchnie, Clinical Nurse Manager, Childrens Division, NHS Grampian last month
Kathryn Auchnie
Clinical Nurse Manager, Childrens Division,
NHS Grampian
Submitted on 08/05/2025 at 11:44
Published on Care Opinion at 11:44


picture of Kathryn Auchnie

Hi Aberdeen99

I am so sorry to hear of your experience when you attended the A&E department with your baby. Parents/carers already feel anxious and worried when their child is ill and I am disappointed that you were made to feel scared and vulnerable by the actions of some of the staff when you attended the hospital. This is not the level of professionalism we expect from the staff and I can only apologise for this. I hope your baby is recovering now.

I would be grateful if you could share your child's name and date of birth so that I can review and discuss this with the specific staff in order to ensure this does not happen to others in the future. My e-mail address is kathryn.auchnie@nhs.scot.

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