"Disorganised"

Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback on our Ophthalmology Outpatient Department, RVI. We assume from the content of the comment that the issue relates to Ward 21 and an attendance for a pre-admission assessment prior to surgery. We are sorry the impression given on this particular day was that the Ward appeared dirty and unkempt. The Ward is cleaned several times daily and we have worked with housekeeping services to provide further domestic services due to the high volume of patients attending the ward which unfortunately brings increasing pressures on cleanliness. This Sister has reinforced with the staff that she expects the highest standards of cleanliness and again would apologise if this was not your perception on the day you attended.

The unit accommodates around 100 patients per day with patients attending for both pre-admission assessment and day case surgery in quite a small area, which can give the appearance of disorganisation but I would like to reassure you that this is not the case and again we apologise if this was not the impression when you attended. We do routinely record blood pressure in the waiting area but on questioning the Nurses, they have stated that they would not undress a patient in the ward waiting areas and we have never witnessed this practice. Despite this the staff have been reminded of the privacy and dignity of patients policy. The examination room in which your assessment was carried out does hold notes and we have discussed with the staff under no circumstances, should a pre assessment be disturbed to retrieve them.

The department will always endeavour to accommodate special requests for holidays and other commitments from patients and try to offer alternative dates, which is agreeable to both the patient and the clinical teams, again we apologise if this was not the case on this occasion.

Thank you again for your feedback, we appreciate all comments both positive and negative, to enable our Directorates and employees to see things from a patients perspective and help to improve the services and care we provide to our patients. If you would like to have our Patient Services department carry out an investigation on your behalf and provide you with a formal response, you can contact them on patient.relations@nuth.nhs.uk with these details and your contact information and an investigation officer will be in contact to discuss your issues.