Will new Alex be cleaner?

Re: “We need a new Royal Alexandra Hospital ... now,” by Andrew Otway, Opinion, May 31. Andrew Otway, president of the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation, says the time to build a new Royal Alex is now.

Otway says the biggest problems with the old main building are overcrowding in the four-bed patient rooms and the lack of private rooms. Not only does this affect patient comfort, he states, but high infection rates are also a serious issue.

What he forgets to say is the Royal Alex is filthy. I know several people who have used this hospital and were shocked at how dirty it is — not only in patient rooms and bathrooms, but in public areas too. No wonder there are so many hospitalacquired antibiotic resistant infections at the Alex.

How would a new facility solve this cleaning problem? Old hospitals, like new ones, do not clean themselves. Has the hospital thought about increasing its cleaning staff, increasing their hours and paying them a suitable wage that dignifies and acknowledges their hard work?

It is poor management and lack of common sense and compassion that leads to putting an elderly female patient in a room with four men and one bathroom. Perhaps, Royal Alex administrators need to review their policies and mission statement before they are allowed to take over the care of a new hospital.

Linda Klym, Sherwood Park