An Edmonton man says he was shocked and disgusted when he took his father to a local emergency room and he was placed in a room covered in someone else's blood.
Richard -- who would prefer to use just his first name – told CTV Edmonton that when his father began complaining about chest and stomach pains a couple of weeks ago, he took him to the emergency department at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
They were escorted to a room, where Richard says he immediately noticed blood splatters on almost every surface of the room.
“There was blood all over the floor, there was blood on the chair, there was blood splatter on the walls, on the cabinets, on the hand cleaner, the paper towel dispenser,” he said.
Richard didn't want to say anything in front of his father for fear of further upsetting him, but he says he immediately went to talk to staff at the nurses’ station.
“They said they would get someone right on it and that that wasn't acceptable,” he said.
But Richard says nothing happened. He asked again and still no one came. So he pulled out his cellphone camera and took a video of the blood splatters.
“About an hour and a half later when my dad went for his CT scan, I told them the room was disgusting and that I would like it cleaned before my father got back,” Richard said.
The risk of contracting an illness from blood spatters, such as HIV, is low, says an infectious disease expert that CTV Edmonton spoke with, but potentially dangerous bacteria such as C. difficile and MRSA can survive on surfaces for days and can lead to infections.
Alberta Health Services, which operates the hospital, says there is normally a detailed and rigorous process to clean and disinfect patient areas, to prevent the spread of infection. They are investigating to understand why that protocol wasn’t followed in this instance.
"We regret the concern and stress this incident caused the patient and his family. This should not have happened,” the agency told CTV News.
"Placing a patient in an unclean area is unacceptable, and we are taking steps to determine how the incident occurred and will ensure staff is educated to prevent similar events in the future."
With a report from CTV Edmonton’s Carmen Leibel
