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Lack of hoisted changing places in toilets

Posted By Aberdeenshiremum

"Lack of hoisted changing places in toilets"

About: Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Little France

(as a service user),

We travelled from Aberdeenshire with my quadriplegic 15 year old yesterday to attend spinal clinic ( amazing staff btw), but after a long journey we asked the main reception staff where a hoisted toilet was to change my son. Is it correct there isn’t one - at all? - or just not in outpatients? 

We were given a consulting room and we used the examination plinth - which is very short and narrow and no hoist. We were thankfully a bit early for clinic so had the extra time to be found a free room etc. 

This is very far from ideal - everyone should have easy access to a toilet that works for their needs. Especially in a hospital, and even more so when people are coming from all over Scotland to attend clinics.

The staff were very helpful, but it was a very busy area, and it shouldn’t be such a hassle to use a toilet / change a nappy. I am shocked that there aren’t a few in the hospital - in outpatients! 

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Responses

Response from Jeannette Morrison, Head of Patient Experience, NHS Lothian 5 years ago
Jeannette Morrison
Head of Patient Experience,
NHS Lothian

Submitted on 26/02/2020 at 17:14
Published on Care Opinion at 17:14

Dear Aberdeenshiremum

Thank you very much for sharing your feedback with us following your son's visit to his spinal clinic appointment. I was really pleased to hear how amazing the staff were but was sorry to read that you experienced difficulties in accessing a hoisted toilet for your son.

I have shared your feedback with the team as l am not aware what accessible facilities there are available on the Royal Infirmary Site, once I have heard back from them l will get an update to you.

Please can l apologise as it sounds as though this was very difficult for you both but was pleased to read that the staff were able to find you a free room, which is as you say was not ideal.

I do hope the appointment went well and I will be back in touch.

With kind regards

Jeannette

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Response from Jeannette Morrison, Head of Patient Experience, NHS Lothian 5 years ago
Jeannette Morrison
Head of Patient Experience,
NHS Lothian

Submitted on 04/03/2020 at 17:13
Published on Care Opinion at 17:13

Dear Aberdeenshiremum

I have shared your feedback with the senior team at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and l am sorry to report that we don’t have any hoisted toilets in the hospital. There are a number of toilets that are accessible but as you know that is not the same as a hoisted toilet. As part of our new building for the Royal Hospital for Sick Children and Clinical Neurosciences there are a number of hoisted toilets but I appreciate that this still does not help you or your son at his out-patient appointment recently.

If you are attending for another appointment I would be happy for you to contact me in the Patient Experience Team so that we can link you with one of the senior nurses at the Royal Infirmary who can make any arrangements for any additional support for you both.

I would like to apologise again for the difficulties that you and your son experienced.

Kind regards

Jeannette

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