DEAR Editor,-
Thank you for bringing the complaint letter to our attention and giving us the opportunity to respond.
We would like to apologise to the patient that our service did not meet his/her expectations. We hope that, should the patient again be submitted to our hospital, he/she will experience our service differently as the management and staff members at Netcare Margate Hospital are committed to providing quality care and excellent service to all of our patients.
We would also like to encourage the person, and all of our patients, to immediately bring any concerns they may have to our attention, as we can then look into and address their concerns right there and then. It is sometimes very difficult from a purely practical point of view, as in this case, to investigate and respond to complaints at a later stage.
Patients in our hospital choose their meals from an ‘à la carte’ menu that has been designed by our outsourced catering company Medi-rest/Compass, which is an internationally recognised catering company. Ward hostesses use a tick-sheet to record what each patient has ordered from the menu.
Without trying to sound as if we are making excuses, it is impossible for us to comment on the specific incidences to which the patient refers. With no information on who the complainant is and when the incident occurred, we cannot say whether the patient in fact received the meal that he/she ordered or whether the wrong food was served. For the same reason as stated above, we also cannot comment on why nobody assisted the patient with eating.
We encourage patients in our hospital to ask for assistance whenever they need it. If the patient had asked for assistance, we would expect our nurses to have assisted without any undue delay, unless there were unforeseen circumstances, for example, if the patient was asleep. Microwaves are available in ward kitchens to reheat any food if required.
Regarding the sandwiches for our day cases returning from theatre, we generally serve a selection of sandwiches with cheese and tomato fillings (with or without ham), which may be on white or brown bread, and we will always try to meet the needs of patients asking for other spreads like Marmite, where possible.
Please be assured that as a service-orientated business, we value all feedback from our patients as it allows us to form a better understanding of their expectations, perceptions and their experiences, the very nature of which forms an indispensable part of our services, and to continually improve our service to them.
ROB FERREIRA
General manager, Netcare Margate Hospital
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