I read with great interest the article on the new Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) emergency unit (The Leader, July 16) and of course along with that goes the whole new addition to the hospital, long overdue.
As a 30-year proud resident of Surrey, I am so happy we are finally getting a hospital that matches the city. That being said, I was admitted to SMH on June 19 for a large hernia repair. My stay was four nights.
I was processed through pre-op, went to surgery and ended up in a very nice semi-private room – not requested but I guess it was the only one available.
The care I received was second to none, the surgeon was wonderful, the nurses were outstanding – angels in every way.
But the room was filthy! During the four nights I was there, the room had a five-minute floor cleaning just once that I saw. It could have been done while I was sleeping, but I saw a cleaner just once and her heart was somewhere else.
The older lady I shared the room with had an issue with the bathroom, a couple of accidents. There was human waste on the assist bar of the lavatory for the whole time I was there. I actually cleaned it myself. I had an abdominal drain in my incision which came off one night and drainage spilled on the floor. It was wiped with a dry towel and nothing else was done. I wanted to leave there so I wouldn’t get sick. It was like a cheap motel.
The care was the best. No issues there, but if this method of cleaning is transferred to the new hospital, it won’t be long before that new building will look and smell like the old one.
It’s not fair to patients or to the staff to accept a standard like that. What’s the answer? I don’t know, but something has to be done now.
Thanks to the staff of SMH for my wonderful care, even the food was okay. But please, Mr. Minister of Health, do something about the cleaning regime.