'Filth at hospital led to vile experience'

A woman who was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment said "absolutely filthy" bathroom conditions and dirty floors had contributed to a "vile experience".

Sarah Cadwallader, who was treated for an abdominal infection at the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital in Lancashire between 9 and 12 January, said staff had been "completely overwhelmed" by the number of patients.

The therapist complained she had not received "the level of care you would hope to receive and I'm sure some of the staff would like to provide".

The hospital trust said January "has been exceptionally busy", and added: "Our domestic teams are trying their best to keep on top of cleaning regimes."

Tony McDonald, from East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "It's disappointing to hear about Ms Cadwallader's experience in the Emergency Department as colleagues in the team could not be working any harder to see and treat people as quickly as possible in very challenging circumstances."

He said there were "around 60 more people coming to A&E every single day" compared with the same period in 2025.

"I want to assure the hundreds of thousands of people who attend for urgent or emergency care every year that regular cleaning is scheduled across the hospital, but we do see issues, particularly in busy public areas."

Cadwallader said: "There was somewhere between 40 and 60 people trying to use one toilet that had a blocked sink, which was absolutely filthy.

"It had no soap - even when the sink was unblocked - and none of the hand sanitizer pumps that I tried actually had hand sanitizer."

She said she felt like "you don't want to be there", adding: "It's a vile experience when you're already at a low point with illness and pain."

The 53-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle, said there were "dirty floors and broken items", adding: "I was put in a side room briefly for observations and there was a hand towel or wipes dispenser on the wall that had an out-of-order notice on, and it said 'Date reported: Boxing Day'.

"It's two weeks later and obviously nobody's fixed it, so things are just not as they should be, as well as being wildly overcrowded."

She said "the few staff that were there were completely overwhelmed by the numbers".

Cadwallader added: "So people weren't getting everything they needed and the state of the place was pretty filthy as well."

She said another patient's relatives were "completely horrified by the conditions".

The hospital recently sent her a letter informing that another patient had an infectious gut bacteria that had not been diagnosed at the time and they had notified her GP should she need antibiotics in future.

While the risk of it being transferred to her was considered to be "very low", she said the letter "gives you a bit of a bombshell".

"It just added to the distress and the horrendous experience really."

McDonald, from the NHS trust, said: "Sadly, some patients do come into hospital already carrying infections, which is why we have robust, routine screening processes in place to help identify them as early as possible.

"On this occasion, screening identified a patient who was carrying CPO, a type of bacteria that can make infections more difficult to treat. As soon as the result was confirmed, swift action was taken to reduce any potential risk to others."

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