"Hospital Comment"

Thank you for taking the time to post your comments on NHS Choices about your stay on ward 46 of the Royal Victoria Infirmary in November 2011. The Trust strives to deliver the highest standard of care and patient experience at all times and we are very disappointed to read that we failed to meet these standards on this occasion. We would always encourage patients and relatives to raise concerns at the time these arise as this allows the Sister and Matron to address any issues in a timely manner. We would also like to apologise that we failed to deliver an acceptable standard of care at the time you were a patient with us, and to assure you that the Nursing and Medical teams will be made aware of the feedback that you have provided via the NHS Choices website.

Environmental cleanliness, and infection control, are given the highest priority by the  Trust, and all staff are expected to take pride in ensuring that the environment is clean, and conducive to each patient’s care whilst in hospital. We were very concerned that you found the environment not to be clean, Ward 46 has an excellent domestic cleaning team and the nursing staff follow strict cleaning protocols. The environment is regularly inspected and audited to ensure its standards are achieved. Please accept our apologies that you found this not to be the case during your stay.

Without further details regarding your hospital stay it is difficult for us to more thoroughly investigate your concerns, and we would be very happy to discuss your experiences in order that they can be addressed in order to bring about any necessary improvements. It would be most helpful if you could contact Matron Rutherford, Surgical Services or Mr Paul Anderson, Patient Relations Manager on 0191 233 6161. May I take the opportunity to thank you, once again, for your feedback and in anticipation of further discussion about your concerns.