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"The care my mother received was exceptional and we are all very grateful."

About: Aberdeen Royal Infirmary / Orthopaedics

(as a relative),

My elderly mother-in-law recently fractured her hip following a fall. She was admitted first to A&E and then to orthopaedic trauma. The staff in both areas were extremely kind and caring. My mother in law was anxious and scared but the staff were so reassuring. There was only 1 nursing auxiliary who my mother in law told me was a little rough with her. This was unfortunate as my mother in law was left feeling upset and scared.

During an evening visit to my mother in law I observed a trained member of staff checking the patients blood pressure, temperatures etc. They were using an electronic machine but made no effort to wash or gel her hands between patients or to clean the equipment between patients. I challenged them and they apologised, and then proceeded to clean the equipment.

The ward environment always seemed clean and organised. There was good communication from staff giving us updates on my mother in laws condition. The staff always greeted you with a smile, despite being so busy.

The care my mother received was exceptional and we are all very grateful.

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Responses

Response from Kate Danskin, Chief Nurse, Surgical Division, NHS Grampian 7 years ago
Kate Danskin
Chief Nurse, Surgical Division,
NHS Grampian
Submitted on 20/01/2017 at 18:11
Published on Care Opinion at 21:00


Thank you so much for your very helpful feedback FB64.

First of all I am delighted to hear you felt the care your mother in law received was exceptional. I know the teams always strive to deliver the absolute best quality of care and they will be delighted to see this post. I also know that everyone who is admitted as an emergency very reasonably finds the experience of hospital pretty terrifying. I am so glad everyone one in the Emergency Department and Orthopaedic Trauma ward were extremely kind and caring. That can make all the difference to making a very difficult experience for a patient -and their family -the best it can be. The same can be said for making sure there is good communication about what is happening and I'm very happy to read that went well too.

At the same time I note one person did not meet the standard we all aim for and the impact that had on your mother in law. I am so sorry this happened. Your feedback will be a helpful reminder for us all that our manner with patients is so important to how they feel in our care. A momentary lapse in focusing on a patient's feelings and how they are responding to our manner can have such a negative effect.

Thank you also for drawing our attention to the lapse in hand washing and equipment cleaning - and for raising it with the nurse at the time. I would encourage patients and their family to raise with anyone in the hospital if they notice they haven't washed their hands or equipment. Hand washing is the number one action that helps to reduce the spread of infection in hospital. I am really sorry this lapse in our infection control standards happened. While we have on-going monitoring of these standards, every reminder is helpful. I'm pleased it sounds the nurse reacted to your challenge in a positive way and immediately corrected his/her actions.

Thank you again for taking the time to post. I will make sure your feedback is shared with the teams as soon as I post this response. I hope your mother in law is making a good recovery from her major surgery.

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