13 July 2012 Last updated at 08:14 ET

Royal Cornwall Hospital probes 'disgusting' toilet

Paper towels were stacked on the bin in the toilets

Toilets at the at the Royal Cornwall Hospital were in an "absolutely disgusting" state, according to a patient.

Fran Nolan, 66, had gone to the hospital near Truro for an operation when she went into the ladies' toilets.

But she found them so disgusting she made an official complaint.

Managers said cleaners "take a pride in their work and are disappointed the area was not up to our usual high standard at the time of this visit".

Mrs Nolan, from St Erth, was at the hospital at about 0730 BST on 21 June for her operation when she went to the toilets in the main reception.

'Toilet pans soiled'

She said: "I was shocked. The bin holding the paper towels had a pile about 2ft above the bin with toilet paper all over the floor in both cubicles.

"Both of the toilet pans were soiled.

"It was absolutely disgusting. Considering I was going into surgery, it didn't fill me with a lot of confidence."

Her husband took a photo and she complained to the Patient Advice and Liaison Service.

She said: "Even at Tescos they clean the toilets every two hours. This must have been left there overnight."

A hospital spokesman said: "The toilets near the outpatients department are in the busiest part of the hospital and are cleaned at regular intervals throughout the day from 7 am until 7pm.

"The state of facilities can change suddenly between cleaning schedules and we do encourage patients and visitors to let us know of any problems.

"Our cleaning services team are available for rapid response to any problem and we will look into the reason why this did not happen on this occasion."