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Wonderful clinicians, horrible waiting room

Story from nhs.uk

"Wonderful clinicians, horrible waiting room"

About: North Middlesex Hospital

I cannot fault the treatment received from the clinicians in the breast cancer clinic. However, the management of the hospital needs to look at waiting room protocol with regards to Covid-19. I had to spend 2 hours in total in the mammo / ultrasound waiting room. During this time there were up to nine people in a 5 metre by 3 metre square room. No one was checking correct wearing of face masks so I personally asked two fellow patients to please cover their nose. I gave up asking people after this. It was impossible to maintain two metre distance. Animated conversations and mobile phone use was going on (which we know increases droplets). There was a stack of communal magazines on a table in the room which is a fomite risk and also dust balls which suggests infrequent cleaning. There are no windows in this room and it opens onto a windowless corridor. A stand fan was placed in the corner which was circulating air but this would do nothing to increase fresh air into the small room and so could likely spread virus. Chairs were less than a metre apart. Someone wiped a couple of chairs at one point but this was very ad hoc and not done between patients changing over in them. Whilst it is good to issue face masks on entry to the hospital if there is no enforcement inside the hospital this is not helping to protect us. It was clear many had not been shown how to adjust the nose clip on the masks issued so the masks just slipped down. Even with masks, the lack of social distancing possible in the waiting room made this space unacceptably risky for a clinical setting. Also, the posters on the wall telling people to say if they have recently arrived from mainland China or other Asian countries are several months out of date - posters reminding of mandatory and correct wearing of face masks would be more helpful. In addition, there is no protective screen for the desk in the mammogram waiting room, only in the initial breast clinic reception room, which seems inconsitent, especially as the staff member at the screening waiting room was calling people up to check their details on the computer.

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Responses

Response from North Middlesex Hospital 3 years ago
North Middlesex Hospital

Submitted on 04/12/2020 at 08:22
Published on nhs.uk at 12:37

Dear Nicola,

In regards to your experience in the mammogram waiting room at North Middlesex Hospital. I will first like to apologise for the shortfall in the service you received as it is our aim to provide a safe environment for patients and staff. Your feedback is valuable in helping us ensure a consistent and safe environment at all times, and especially now during the COVID19 pandemic. Each of your concerns were investigated and actions were taken to resolve them. These are the actions taken as a result of your feedback

1. No one checking the correct wearing of mask

Action taken:-

a. The receptionist was asked to remind patients to ensure their mask is covering their nose and mouth; and to ensure that the wire on the mask provided is moulded around the nose to provide optimal protection

b. A poster was placed in the waiting area informing patients that all occupants in the room need to have their nose and mouth fully covered or will not be

allowed to remain in the room

2. A stack of communal magazines was on a table

Action taken:-

a. Magazines were removed and disposed

3. A standing fan was placed in the corner which was circulating air .... and could likely spread the virus

Action taken :-

a. The fan was removed from the waiting area

4. Chairs were less than 2 meters apart

Actions taken:-

a. One of the chairs was removed from the waiting room; and with the removal of the fan, we are now able to ensure the remaining chairs in the waiting room are 2 meters apart

5. The poster on the wall telling people to say if they have recently arrived from mainland China to Asian countries

Action taken

a. The poster was removed and disposed as that information is no longer relevant in the pandemic

6. There was no protective screen for the desk in the mammogram waiting room

Action taken:-

a. A protective screen was installed at the desk in the mammogram waiting room on 3rd December offering cover to the entire desk

7. Someone wiped a couple of chairs at one point but this was very ad hoc between patients changing over

Action taken-:

a. There is a cleaner allocated to ensure all the chairs in the waiting area is wiped between use

b. A notice was placed in the waiting area informing patients that chair cleaning needs to occur between patient's usage

c. The receptionist and the mammogram department area manager will monitor the consistency and standard of the cleaning service and will liaise with the cleaning managers if the service is not up to satisfaction

I hope that this response addresses the concerns that you have raised and I will like to apologise again for our shortfall in service that you received on this occasion.

Gillan Belfon-Johnson

Associate Director of Nursing

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