Celebrity doctor opens fire on bedside manners at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary

A TELEVISION doctor has launched an outspoken attack on the “disgusting” bedside manner of staff who treated his grandmother at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

Dr James Logan, who appears on the hit Channel Four show Embarrassing Bodies, claims communication with his family from staff at the ERI’s stroke unit was poor and claimed some “staff need retrained in bedside manner”.

The 32-year-old from North Berwick, who is a tropical disease specialist on the TV show, said in a series of comments on the social media site Twitter that he was “genuinely disgusted” by the attitude of some nurses and doctors on the unit who he said should be “ashamed” of the service they provided.

Dr Logan, who is head of a research group at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, informed his 3157 Twitter followers that his grandmother suffered a stroke a couple of days before Christmas.

On December 28, he launched his tirade by blasting “extremely rude staff” who “make u feel like u r massive interruption to their day”, which received messages of support and condolence from his followers.

It is understood that the star has since submitted a letter of complaint to health bosses. Dr Logan is a research scientist with a first class degree in zoology from Aberdeen University.

Stuart Wilson, director of communications and public affairs, NHS Lothian, said: “NHS Lothian takes all complaints very seriously and the information gathered is used constructively to improve our services.

“We cannot comment on this particular case, but it goes without saying that we are disappointed when people are unhappy with the services they have received and we welcome all feedback, both good and bad, to help shape our
services.”

Independent Federation of Nursing in Scotland general manager, Irenee O’Neill, defended hospital staff, saying given the recent national controversy concerning the Duchess of Cambridge and the subsequent death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha, the greatest level of sensitivity was required when discussing a patient’s condition.

She said: “A lot depends on who is the next of kin for the patient. Needless to say, because of the upset with the Duchess of Cambridge, nursing staff are exceptionally wary at the moment. But their communication when a patient is seriously or dangerously ill, they don’t just care for the patient, they care for the relatives.

“At this point in time, the majority of staff who are working over this period away from their families are working to high standards. At the end of the day, staff are working at total capacity, especially if someone is critically ill.”

Ms O’Neill added: “These nurses are doing the very best that they can, and I can empathise that he [Dr Logan] is anxious and he loves his grandmother, but that type of approach is not helpful, not only for the service but it’s also not helpful for the old lady who is seriously ill.”

Dr Logan joined the TV show last year. In one notable episode, he infected himself with blood-sucking worms in a bid to see whether they could help cure his yeast allergy.