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This was deeply unsettling and undermined my confidence

Posted By wearingpx45

"This was deeply unsettling and undermined my confidence"

About: Aberdeen Royal Infirmary / Emergency Medicine Aberdeen Royal Infirmary / General Surgery Aberdeen Royal Infirmary / Ophthalmology (Eye Problems)

(as the patient),

During my recent hospital stay, I experienced a number of concerning incidents that I feel need to be formally acknowledged:

1. Gentamicin Overdose

I was given an overdose of gentamicin, a strong antibiotic. This was a serious medication error with potentially harmful consequences, and I’m still trying to understand the long-term impact it may have on my health.

2. Missing Medical Notes

At one point, my medical notes went missing. As a result, I was left waiting in pain without appropriate relief because staff couldn’t access the information they needed to treat me.

3. Unrecorded Oramorph Administration

Overnight, I was given oramorph to manage my pain, but this wasn’t recorded in my notes. This lack of documentation could have led to confusion or even risk in my ongoing treatment.

4. Blood Taken Under Improvised Conditions

In the middle of the night, staff needed to take blood but my bed light was broken. They had to use the torch on my phone to see what they were doing. It felt unsafe and unprofessional, and I was left questioning the standards of care.

5. Misidentification and Premature Discharge

After being transferred to a different ward during the night, I was told the next day that I was being discharged. Staff removed my cannula without checking my wristbands or confirming my identity. About an hour later, they returned to say they had mistaken me for another patient and I wasn’t actually being discharged. This was deeply unsettling and undermined my confidence in the care I was receiving

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Responses

Response from Gillian Stephen, Senior Charge Nurse, Surgical Division, NHS Grampian 2 months ago
Gillian Stephen
Senior Charge Nurse, Surgical Division,
NHS Grampian

Submitted on 18/08/2025 at 12:15
Published on Care Opinion at 12:15

Dear wearingpx45

Thank you for your recent feedback regarding your experience within the General Surgery & Ophthalmology wards at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns, and would like to extend my sincere apologies for the distress and inconvenience you experienced during your stay.

To allow me to follow up with your concerns would it be possible to contact me via my telephone or email, SCN Stephen – 01224 552243 or @Gillianstephen2@nhs.scot or through the NHS Grampian Feedback Service.

Once again, I apologise for the concerns you have raised and thank you for bringing them to our attention. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us improve the quality and safety of our services

Kind regards

Gillian Stephen

Senior Charge Nurse

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Response from Linda Oldroyd, Lead Nurse for Quality Assurance, Integrated Specialist Care Services Portfolio, NHS Grampian 2 months ago
Linda Oldroyd
Lead Nurse for Quality Assurance, Integrated Specialist Care Services Portfolio,
NHS Grampian

Submitted on 18/08/2025 at 12:25
Published on Care Opinion at 12:25

picture of Linda Oldroyd

Good Morning

Your experience sounds very troubling and I can understand how this has affected you. Identify checks are very important for patient safety and drug errors should always be reported and investigated.

We do have anti-biotic protocols and if these have been breached it is important for us to understand why. Many of our records are electronic now and this incudes the prescription and administrations of medicines. This means that there should have been no delay to any prescribed medications being given.

Poor lighting can be a source of errors and you are quite correct to point this out.

I am so sorry that your confidence in us to provide safe care has been undermined. It is very important for us to know about events such as those you describe. Simply by reading this, people can make changes to their practice. However, in order to maximize our learning opportunities but respectful of your right to anonymity and confidentiality, if you feel able to provide some detail about where these events occurred please do get in touch again. I would be happy to have a conversation with you and hopefully provide you with reassurance that we do listen and we do care and we will take action to improve wherever possible.

Respectfully yours,

linda.oldroyd@nhs.scot

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Response from Caty Smith, Nurse Manager, Surgical 1, NHS Grampian 2 weeks ago
Caty Smith
Nurse Manager, Surgical 1,
NHS Grampian

Submitted on 09/10/2025 at 08:59
Published on Care Opinion at 08:59

Dear wearingpx45

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience during your recent hospital admission. It is clear and understandable from the details you have shared why your confidence in the service provided has been impacted.

I will share your feedback with my nursing team in Ophthalmology for awareness and learning from your experience. I would like to further investigate the points you have shared and would welcome discussing with you if you wish to contact me directly.

Kind regards

Catriona Smith

Nurse Manager

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