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"Dirty A&E department"

About: Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (Edinburgh) / Accident & Emergency

(as a parent/guardian),

I attended the -almost-brand new children's A&E department at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary two weeks ago. It was a Friday night and as expected it was busy but not crowded. I at first took this to be the reason the waiting area was such a mess, but as the evening progressed I watched the cleaner do their rounds more than once and was dismayed to see nothing visibly changed. I think that they emptied the bin but, unbelievably at the tail end of the pandemic,  the only toilet close to us was left blocked.  Paper towels and empty food containers were strewn across the floor and dozens of half drank cups of water were on surfaces. I had my toddler with me, and continuously stopping her from drinking from dirty cups added to the stress of a late night A&E visit with tired and sick kids. I was surprised to see books and toys, which if available, should surely be getting a regular wipe down. I really don't like to complain but I can't understand how the department can be left like that. Honestly, I found it embarrassing. There were a number of families who were also stopping their small kids from picking up rubbish. I want the department to be aware that this is happening because there clearly needs to be closer supervision of cleaning practices and perhaps basic hygiene training for staff. The A&E experience was otherwise excellent, all the medical staff were great. Some were very tired, but all took time to explain what was happening, what to expect and though there was a long wait we were kept informed and updated. The staff who performed the final procedure on my Son were just incredible and had us all laughing and in high spirits during what could have been a frightening experience otherwise. I just feel that the cleanliness let these amazing people down, when surely this could be an easy thing to rectify and get right. I really hope someone sees this who can do something about it. I have photos if anyone wants to see them. 

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Responses

Response from Louise Fegan, Lead Nurse for Quality Improvement and Standards, Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, NHS Lothian nearly 2 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Louise Fegan
Lead Nurse for Quality Improvement and Standards, Royal Hospital for Children and Young People,
NHS Lothian
Submitted on 06/06/2022 at 11:05
Published on Care Opinion at 14:42


Can I first thank you for sharing your experience using care opinion. Feedback is a valuable source of information and can be used to improve the quality of the care we deliver, and in this case, the environment we deliver it in.

I have discussed what you found with the Domestic Lead Catriona who wanted me to share this response with you:

"I was sorry to read your feedback and I can only apologise that the cleanliness of the Emergency Department did not meet the expected standards on the night of your visit. I will ensure that this is looked into.
As you highlighted the Emergency Department is very busy, our domestic staff work hard on all shifts to ensure standards are met, however, I appreciate that this was not what you experienced during your visit.
We appreciate feedback which gives us the opportunity to improve on the service that we provide."

I have also had a discussion with the senior charge nurses from the department to not only pass on your kind comments about their team, but also to discuss how we can do things differently within the waiting area. We are going to see if we can perhaps look into some volunteers from the volunteer service to assist within the department. This could help with the upkeep of the waiting area which when busy, requires extra maintenance.

Once again I am sorry that you had this experience as this is not what we aim to provide but thank you for the kind comments about the staff you came into contact with.

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