"disgusted"

Dear Viv

Many thanks for getting in touch with us.

I was disappointed to hear that a bed for your husband wasn't ready when you needed it. We'd want all our patients to feel welcomed and expected when arriving on our wards - for us it's an important part of reassuring them at what can be a very anxious time. I am really sorry this did not happen for you.

I can also understand your concerns about the way the way in which the bed was cleaned. I am sorry - these are not the standards we'd expect to find on our wards and I do wish you had felt able to speak up at the time. We would always encourage our patients or visitors to come and talk to us about any concerns they may have so that we can act on it immediately whilst they are still in our care.

I will, of course, ensure your feedback is passed on to the nursing and domestic team on the unit.

Please be reassured that we take infection control very seriously and we have stringent policies in place.

We also take the time to interview and survey thousands of patients every month - we ask them to rate how clean our environments are. We know it is an important part of helping patients feel safe and cared for in the right way.

Our results are excellent and we are absolutely determined to keep them this way.

At the moment, I don't have any other details regarding your husband and when he visited so it has been difficult to look into this in further detail.

If, however, you have any outstanding concerns or just want to give me more information about your husband's care, please get in touch. I would really welcome the opportunity to talk to you. My email is annie.laverty@nhct.nhs.uk.

I hope your husband is feeling better and thanks again for taking the time to help us improve.

Kind regards

Annie

Annie Laverty, Director of Patient Experience