Hospital staff left a pool of vomit uncleaned for more than 24 hours, a visitor has claimed.
Thomas Firth first saw the sick just feet from the main entrance of Darent Valley when he went to see his mother-in-law on Sunday afternoon.

A yellow “slippery floor” hazard sign had been placed over it as a warning to patients, staff and visitors. But despite employing 2,000 people, no one was available to clean the mess.

The vomit had still not been cleared up by the time Mr Firth, 24, left that evening - and the mechanical engineer was even more horrified when he returned the next day to be greeted by the same deposit on the paving.

Despite complaining to reception staff and assurances it would be cleaned up immediately, Mr Firth said the vomit - and warning sign - was still there Monday night.

“The worst part of it all is that it’s next to the front doors. I was surprised when I went to reception Monday morning and they said they hadn’t had more complaints.
“The receptionist said she hadn’t seen it which surprised me as she must have walked right past it.

“She made a call to the cleaning team and they said they would deal with it straightaway but it was still there an hour later when I left for work.”

Mr Firth, who lives in Chatham, returned at 11pm that evening and was astonished to see it still there. It is appalling from a hospital that sick is left undealt with for over 24 hours,” he said.
“Every member of staff and public enters through these doors and not a single thing was done.”

Mr Firth formally complained by email to Darent Valley.
A hospital spokesman apologised for the “unacceptable” amount of time it took to clean up the patch of vomit.

He added: “Although it was covered by a warning sign it should have been dealt with immediately. The hospital’s facilities management have reminded their staff about the importance of maintaining a clean environment at all times.”

Darent Valley Hospital building is run as part of a private finance initiative and the building is owned by The Hospital Company (Dartford) Limited, a private sector company, and the

NHS trust leases the building. In its last Care Quality Commission report in February 2014 all national standards were met.