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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think my dh should not have to buy his own dressings after an NHS op yesterday

60 replies

steffanny · 09/05/2011 18:00

My dh had a large abcess drained under GA yesterday.

He went to GP surgery today for the nurse to re pack and dress the wound and needs to go every day for a week.

The nurse told him they 'do not stock dressings' and sent him off with a script for several items to dress his wound with all week including the gloves required. This cost him approx £25.

Is this right ? It seems absurd that nurses at the surgery do not have dressings or is this the norm ???? And gloves surely the surgery has those in stock.

OP posts:
mercibucket · 09/05/2011 20:52

why should only English patients (or rather those living in England) have to pay though, sidge? that doesn't sound very fair to me

Original poster
steffanny · 09/05/2011 20:55

oh I see this is the norm now.

Thanks for the pre pay tips he will get one if he needs to get more dressings.
dickie thanks for the offer but we are in deepest Dorset so not practicable

I think it was just a bit of a shock but of course it makes sense that the items needed would be different for different wounds.

The nurse did tell him to watch how to do it so he can do it himself over the weekend but he wants me to do it Shock

I am hoping it gets better soon as is still looking pretty sore but guess we may be in for a long ish recovery.

OP posts:
SauvignonBlanche · 09/05/2011 20:55

English patients are under a different health ecconomy, they benefit from shorter waiting times.
My border NHS Trust has a seperate waiting lists for the 2 countries it serves, the English one is shorter as that is how that country choses to spend its budget.

edam · 09/05/2011 20:59

Making you pay for gloves seems like sharp practice on the part of the GP. The less the practice manages to spend, the higher the partners' profits. Dressings on prescriptions sounds reasonable-ish. Although it was a few years ago, I can't remember having to pay for mine when I had an infected sebaceous cyst, or when I had a mole removed (the mole wound got infected because the stupid hospital discharged me with the wrong dressing ? I was very grateful to the practice nurse who sorted it out).

mercibucket · 09/05/2011 21:06

that's interesting sauvignonblanc
can't the Scottish patients just ask to be treated in England though? Thought we could go anywhere in Europe these days?

1gglePiggle · 09/05/2011 21:12

You can only get a backdated refund on prescription charges with a pre-payment certificate if you get the pharmacy to fill out a nhs receipt at time of dispensing. They can't do it at a later date.

Sidge · 09/05/2011 21:18

mercibuckets I don't think it's fair either! But I'm only a lowly worker and not a politician...

I meant to say that making you pay for goves is a bit tight - the surgery should stock non-sterile gloves (I've never worked anywhere that didn't) and you don't need to use sterile gloves. Technically you don't even need gloves at all if you're doing it yourself!

I've also taught patients and their relatives to dress wounds themselves - 2 reasons really. One, it means they don't have to hang about at home all weekend waiting for a community nurse visit, and two, it eases the pressure on already overstretched community nurses who have a huge caseload already of housebound/terminally ill patients. A mobile, otherwise healthy young patient with a simple wound can generally care for it themselves and don't always need a community nurse.

Original poster
steffanny · 09/05/2011 21:18

yes we saw that about the charge refund on the link so will get a receipt next time.

The treatment he got in the hospital was good and we are lucky to have the NHS in this country. Just hope it stays the case....

OP posts:
Original poster
steffanny · 09/05/2011 21:21

I dont mind dressing a wound but I am not so keen on the idea of the packing and unpacking bit - we dont all have strong stomachs or a liking for pus porn !

OP posts:
boysrock · 09/05/2011 21:45

Look up your walk in centre now then and get there early camp out if it needs doing.Wink Or hope wound stays dry then you won't have to touch it.

Sidge · 09/05/2011 22:08

steffany if the surgeon did a decent job there won't be any pus!

I would only ask a patient or relative to dress/pack a wound if they are happy to. If it's very deep and painful I think to expect a relative to dress it is a bit much TBH.

The practice nurse at your surgery should be dressing it daily, and as boysrock says you may be able to access a walk-in clinic at the weekend to get them to do it. You'll need to take your dressings though!

bellavita · 09/05/2011 22:12

DH had this - he had a huge thing on his back which actually erupted before his dr's appt. They ended up cutting it out and it left a hole in his back which they packed and expected me to change the dressing. They gave him various appts in between and we had to pay for each dressing - even at the walk in centre he went to over a weekend when the gp was closed. It cost us a bloody fortune.

Original poster
steffanny · 09/05/2011 22:22

he has been given the option of going to a clinic at hospital over the weekend but by friday he will have been reviewed by doc to see if any more anti b's needed. If no pus involved I guess I will play nurse. I must confess I am an AHP so should be ok with it really.
Thanks for the tips :-)

OP posts:
Blu · 09/05/2011 22:33

I had to do pin-site cleaning for 9 months while DS was undergoing an orthopaedic procedure - cleaning the sites where pins went into his leg and out the other side. We were taught a sterile routine by the nurse including how to open the pack, put on sterile gloves etc.
We had to get all the stuff on prescription - and it is just dawning on me that had DS not been a child it would have cost a complete fortune. Our GP made such a ** up of the supply of sterile saline sachets on occasion that we had to buy it, at great cost.

I hope he heals up fast.

Original poster
steffanny · 18/05/2011 14:14

well I have just been to collect another 5 items of dressing but thanks to this thread dh got a prepayment card last week otherwise it would be costing us a small fortune.

And yes, gloves were on the list again !

OP posts:
UrsulaBuffay · 18/05/2011 14:17

That surprises me. Then again I think the people whining on the other thread about £20 for a fit to fly letter should read your OP and get real about how cash strapped the NHS really is.

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 18/05/2011 14:23

I had a small op a year or so again...I left hospital with some painkillers which I had to pay for, I didnt give it a second thought ......the NHS are in dire straits, if they had to stretch to dressings as well it would be an ever sorrier state of affairs.

At least he had his op on the NHS!

nijinsky · 18/05/2011 15:04

YANBU. Its part of the total care package for dealing with the ailment surely? ie its necessary to treating it. If you go private or get treated abroad and have to pay for it, as part of what you are paying for you get dressings etc home with you. With the NHS you are still paying for your treatment so why is it not included? What if its a single person and they need the dressings straight away but aren't feeling up to going out to the chemist to get them for a couple of days?

Just seems with anything in this country, you pay but don't get a good deal. The private option simply means paying twice. Quite ridiculous really.

CoffeeDodger · 18/05/2011 15:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Selks · 18/05/2011 15:36

Average GP pay is over £100,000 (www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8319672/GP-pay-to-reach-stratospheric-levels.html) so they can't affford to stock a few dressings in the surgery? Greedy sods.

IWantAnotherBaby · 18/05/2011 16:51

What a stupid remark, Selks. This has absolutely nothing to do with GP pay, and everything to do with what the NHS can and cannot afford. Why should your Dr pay out of his own pocket for your dressing, medication or anything else?

sleepdodger · 18/05/2011 16:56

when pregnant I had to reuse pee pots!! I refused on grounds that if theyre testing for abnormalities its not as sterile to reuse multiple times... my results were always ok until I thought maybe I was being a bit precious so diligently washed / steralised with boiling water at home (nice) etc...funnily enough I then kept getting 'concern' results they had to look at further which were always fine.. could be a coincidence but I didnt think so
I would have paid for them if necessary, but wasnt an option - so instead they spent money retesting me on other things unecessarily...

EarthMotherImNot · 18/05/2011 17:03

You have my sympathies. I was prescribed support stockings by our practice nurse. She recommended/advised 2 pairs, one to wash, one to wear. Got prescription filled and nearly fell over when I was asked to pay £29.60.

I queried the cost as prescriptions are £7.40 to be told each stocking is a single item so it's 4 x £7.40. They come in and are sold as pairs so this has annoyed me today somewhatAngry

Original poster
steffanny · 18/05/2011 17:10

we were pleased with the quick treatment from the hospital but the after care was not great.
He was discharged with NFA required but was not told he would need it dresses and packed daily for several weeks.
It seems the NHS is good for urgent needs but long term chronic non urgent ones are getting missed

OP posts:
starfishmummy · 18/05/2011 17:11

We had to reuse them too sleeplodger and ds is now 12, so obviously nothing to do with the current round of cuts!