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Treatment good but the place was...

Story from nhs.uk

"Treatment good but the place was..."

About: Kettering General Hospital

What could be improved

I recently had to bring my father to the a&e department and was unimpressed with several things. Now I know that waiting times can be long but what I didn't understand was at no point did any member of staff update those waiting. I do not think it would have been unreasonable to have been told an approximate time of waiting .I know things happen but the reception could have kept people updated.

I was extremely disgusted by the state of both the male and female toilets. Both had blood in them, one all over the seat and were generally dirty. Which is not what you would expect from a hospital, especially with regards to infection.

Also the consulting room was a mess. Half eaten sandwiches and dirty wipes in the floor.

I appreciate that the a&e can be a very busy department but there is no excuse for the state of the place.Waiting timesInfectionsCleanlinessConsulting RoomReceptionToilets

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Responses

Response from Kettering General Hospital 13 years ago
Kettering General Hospital

Submitted on 25/01/2011 at 10:35
Published on nhs.uk on 26/01/2011 at 04:05

Thank you for posting your comments. We take patient experience very seriously particularly in our departments which offer a first impression.

With regard to the points you raised, we have installed a television system in the waiting room to display a variety of information including current waiting times. We apologise if this system was not operational during your visit, and we will ensure that it is checked regularly in future.

We again apologise for the state of cleanliness you have found in the toilets. The housekeeping staff in the A&E department conduct regular inspections of the facilities on an hourly basis. In addition, the Housekeeping Supervisory team also monitor the cleanliness of the toilets throughout the day and evening. A signed inspection form can be viewed on the inside entrance door to both the ladies and gents toilets. Regular audits take place by a trained auditor using an audit tool which encompasses all 49 elements of cleaning requirements to assess against the standards of cleanliness in line with the national cleaning specifications.

Whilst we endeavour to ensure that the facilities remain cleaned to a high standard at all times, it is sometimes difficult to monitor each area as soon as it has been used. As reported in local and national media there has been unprecedented numbers of patients through our A&E department and we have been particularly busy. We have deployed additional cleaning resource to this area during this period of intense activity to ensure that high standards of cleanliness are maintained. We will monitor the toilets in future, but do rely on our service users reporting issues to staff so we can arrange for urgent cleaning.

The state of the Consulting room as you reported is not acceptable and we apologise for what you found.

As you have pointed out the A&E is a busy area; however the issues raised have been highlighted with the Housekeeping Supervisory team and the housekeepers who work in A&E to ensure that staff are vigilant regarding the cleanliness of the department. Please be assured the housekeeping staff, within the A&E department, are a very conscientious team and as a Trust our aim is to ensure the cleaning standards are achieved and remain high.

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