"Good care but concerns with doctor hygiene"

I accompanied my 70 year old mum to the CAU, University Hospital, Ayr after being referred by her concerned GP. I cannot stress enough how amazing most of the team were and the Rapid Assessment Unit really did live up to it's name with my mum having had full investigations within one hour of arrival.  

I write this as a concerned daughter who felt it important to highlight both the good and the not so good areas of our experience.

My mother arrived in CAU  reeling from the fact that her GP had sent her and she was feeling a little shell-shocked. She was very quickly taken through for initial assessment and after only a short wait, I was able to join her in the Rapid Assessment area.

I found my mum in a cubicle which was spotlessly clean and she had been made very comfortable and I was very pleasantly surprised to learn of how quickly the team had managed to carry out a number of investigations. The staff on duty were attentive and put her at ease and ensured that she wanted for nothing, they even offered me some food and drink during our wait which even though it was declined, was hugely appreciated.

During her visit, my mum was assessed by a lovely ANP who was really professional and put us at ease with her explanations and lovely manner, and a really fantastic Healthcare Support Worker took bloods and performed and ECG. I also have to praise the rest of the team in the Rapid Assessment area, including the pharmacist, porters and the housekeeping team as during my time in the unit, I witnessed excellent interactions between the staff and the patients and even though they were extremely busy, this was not reflected by the wonderful care that they delivered.

I wish that after such fantastic care I could continue to offer positive feedback for the interaction with the doctor, however I am afraid that this is the point at which our experience declined.

My mum was quietly and patiently waiting for her turn to be seen by the doctor and just hoping that all her tests came back with nothing of major concern. A doctor introduced themselves to us both by offering the shake of a hand, which in this current climate, I found extremely surprising.

What I found even more surprising was that this doctor did not use gloves for the examination of my mum, and did not appear to perform any hand hygiene with either alcohol gel or soap and water for the duration of our stay in the unit.

I witnessed the doctor walk from cubicle to cubicle, shaking hands and examining patients without any gloves or hand hygiene. I had a good vista from where I was sitting and could clearly witness this doctor. I also have to say that I overheard other patients and their relatives discussing this.

The other point at which the care was let down was the doctor's manner when interacting with my mum. While we both felt that the medical care was excellent, their manner was most certainly not. I fully appreciate the pressures faced by NHS staff, particularly 'front door' teams, however I do think that this should not be reflected onto the patients. 

While their care was excellent, the doctor caused further anguish to my mum by the way in which they spoke to her, and by the way in which they delivered her test results and ongoing plan of care.

Being already anxious, my mum was unable to absorb the information the doctor was rapidly firing at her and at one point we found them to be extremely rude when she tried to explain that she was under the impression that her GP had already referred her for some of the investigations that the doctor was telling her they had ordered for her as an outpatient. I did actually intervene at this point as I could tell that my mum was becoming upset.

The doctor did not check that my mum understood the information they were relaying to her, but thankfully I was able to absorb the detail on her behalf. Had I not been there, this would have been extremely worrying for her, and I know that she would have been too anxious given this doctor's manner, to ask any further questions.

I feel extremely lucky that we have an NHS that we can turn to when we need to, and while being completely understanding of, and sympathetic to the current pressures, I believe that delivering quality patient care, which includes the manner in which a patient is spoken to, should still be a priority.

While I was disappointed in the doctor, I cannot thank or praise the rest of the team highly enough, and want to express my sincere thanks for being shining examples of how to continue to deliver extremely high quality patient care  while working under extreme pressure.

Thank you Rapid Assessment Unit, University Hospital, Ayr.