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Nursing staff were polite and ...

Story from nhs.uk

"Nursing staff were polite and ..."

About: The Royal Victoria Infirmary

(as the patient),

What I liked

Nursing staff were polite and the first Consultant was also. The Dermatology drop in melanoma clinic appeared to run smoothly.

What could be improved

The second Consultant in Dermatology was rude, dismissive, did not even introduce himself and managed to examine my wife from a full 3 metres away! We were left with "it's fine". No explanation, no elaboration nothing. We both felt let down and resented especially as we are both doctors ourselves. I really would have thought that with todays emphasis on communication skills in medical education that this Consultant could at least have spoken to us in a civil manner. I am ashamed of my profession!

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Responses

Response from The Royal Victoria Infirmary 14 years ago
The Royal Victoria Infirmary

Submitted on 08/03/2010 at 11:05
Published on nhs.uk on 09/03/2010 at 04:56

Dear Sir

May I take this opportunity to apologise for any distress or anxiety that you or your wife may have experienced following your wife’s appointment at the Melanoma Screening Clinic. I have spoken to the Consultant in charge of the service about your comments and the experience with the second consultant. This is not an acceptable level of communication or service. Following discussions with the team regarding the importance of communication with patients particularly when there may be a serious diagnosis involved can I reassure you that steps have been put in place to ensure that this does not happen again. Once again apologies for any distress or anxiety caused.

Regards

Margaret

Margaret Gray

Directorate Manager/Matron

Dermatology Directorate

tel: 0191 2824551 Ext 24551

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