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The environment was disgraceful

Posted By SuzieD23

"The environment was disgraceful"

About: Accident & Emergency / Zone B

(as a service user),

Brought my mother to AE and sent to place called B zone. 

The environment was disgraceful.

I saw nurses with vapes in the room where she had her bloods and I walked past a room with a doctor vaping in a closed room with no windows.

Supposed to be there to help but obviously hospitals are even more dangerous and unsafe.

My mum has lung problems and this made everything so much worse.

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Responses

Response from John Barron, Service Manager, Urgent & Emergency Care, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust last week
John Barron
Service Manager, Urgent & Emergency Care,
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

Service Manager Adult Urgent and Emergency Care

Submitted on 09/10/2025 at 14:59
Published on Care Opinion at 14:59

Soft Version

Dear SuzieD23,

Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m John Barron, Service Manager for Adult Urgent & Emergency Care at Belfast Trust, and I was very concerned to read about the conditions you and your mother encountered in Zone B.

It is completely unacceptable and unprofessional for any member of staff to vape in a clinical area. I fully understand how distressing this must have been for you, especially given your mother’s lung condition, and I am very sorry this happened.

I will be sharing your feedback with the Zone B team so we can reflect on this incident and take appropriate action to ensure such behaviour does not happen again. Your comments are invaluable in helping us reinforce the high standards of professionalism and care that all patients should expect.

Thank you again for taking the time to write. I hope your mother is recovering well and that you both continue to feel supported.

Kind regards,

John Barron

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