"No-one seems to be taking prime responsibility"

Dear Mum987

Thank you for taking the time to post this feedback. NHS Grampian apologises for this failure to communicate important information to keep your child safe. Your comment about how care is organised suggests to me that you felt that no one person was accountable for your child's care. I will ask the service concerned to respond to this concern and explain how they organise care in the surgical ward.

NHS Grampian aims to be a caring, listening and improving organisation and we see all feedback as an opportunity to learn.

I hope the operation and recovery went well despite the difficulties you encountered.

Kind regards

The Acting Senior Charge Nurse from the surgical ward at the children's hospital in Aberdeen has provided this update:

Normally, children who are admitted from a waiting list would receive information about fasting in the post, prior to admission. If a child is admitted as an emergency or needs to go for a procedure during an admission the registered nurse allocated to the child would provide information on fasting. This nurse should always introduce themselves and let children and families know who is looking after them for that shift. We would like to apologise if this did not happen during your child's stay with us.

With regard to, overal, who is responsible for the ward on any given day, this information should be displayed on the board beside the nurse's station and should be updated daily. However, we would expect the nurse in charge to make her or himself known to all children and families on every shift. We again apologise if this did not happen and will reinforce the requirement for visible leadership with our staff.

Acting Senior Charge Nurse

Surgical Ward

Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital