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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Just back from doctor's and am fuming and livid

340 replies

deckofcards · 30/12/2013 11:41

Before I write a formal letter of complaint, am I being unreasonable?

Went to doctors' before Christmas for a routine appointment and repeat prescription. Needed a blood test and to have ears syringed (have been going deaf). Dr gave me print out and told me to make an appointment with the nurse. Went to reception and asked for an appointment with the nurse which is what I thought I had been given.

Arrived this morning, having fasted. Called in by a sweet enough girl although she wasn't wearing uniform and didn't properly introduce herself as a nurse or anything else. She took my arm and sweetly put it on a pillow, told me I had very deep veins (which I know but it isn't usually a problem but sometimes a doctor has been called), tried the other arm using elasticated cuffs that were clearly broken because they kept popping open and she later said they were no good. She gave me a glass of water to hydrate me better for the veins (which I would have thought would take more than a mintue to work). Still no joy so she went to get a colleague to help her.

The colleague was the receptionist who leaned over me reeking of tobacco and tried to find a vein. I questioned this and was told she was also a trained phlebotomist. The original one then said they would have to give up as the vein wasn't pronounced enough but she would start on my ears. I asked if she was a qualified nurse and she said, no a health care worker.

I declined her offer to deal with my ears and said that I would prefer an appointment with a fully trained practice nurse.

I went out to make another appointment and have been offered one for today with the proper nurse for my ears and have another on Thursday morning for blood tests. I am extremely grumpy that my time has been wasted.

Am I wrong in thinking that if I am told to make an appointment with the nurse and ask for an appointment with the nurse I should be given an appointment with the nurse or advised either when making the appointment that it is not with a nurse. I certainly should not embark on treatment without being appraised of the full facts.

It was clear that the person I saw this morning was not capable or experienced, it did nothing to inspire confidence that she got the girl off the reception desk to help her (and who reeked of tobacco) and I left feeling cross, upset, disrespected and messed about. I would have thought as a minimum of a health care assistant is expected to take blood or syringe ears (and I think the latter is more of an issue actually) then there should be a fully qualified nurse on the premises to supervise, not the stinky girl from reception.

Is this really what healthcare has come to and surely I'm not being unreasonable to expect the tin to contain what it says on the label.

I am minded to make a formal complain to the surgery but needed to get that off my chest first and to take some feedback - hopefully from those who work in surgeries. Oh, and the receptionist/phlebotomist told me it wasn't just my time that was wasted from their side the healthcare assistant now had 30 minutes with no patient because she wasn't doing my ears. My response to that was that had I been told my appointment wasn't being made with the practice nurse in the first place that wouldn't be the case because I wouldn't have made the appointment.

Sorry - very long but I feel better for a rant - and even more that the entire episode was totally out of order. But am I being Unreasonable to think that.

OP posts:
LIZS · 30/12/2013 13:59

yabu and actually were very rude. No wonder receptionists have a reputation as tricky to deal with if people like you wind them up . Do you normally have problems dealing with last minute changes and not having expectations met ?

candycoatedwaterdrops · 30/12/2013 14:02

deck You do know it's highly likely that a health care assistant will take your bloods even if you do go privately?! Grin

zebdee · 30/12/2013 14:04

Both of these are tasks that are routinely done by trained health care assistants now and your lucky to be getting your ears done at all my surgery won't do them any more!

TheListingAttic · 30/12/2013 14:05

She wouldn't have been allowed to carry out those procedures unless she was qualified to do them. She may be inexperienced, but she will have been trained or they wouldn't be booking appointments for her to do these things. Similarly, the doctor may have said "nurse" but they'd book the appointment with the most appropriate - trained - person. So for basic procedures you get a HCA. Would you expect an orthopaedic surgeon to be supplied to splint your toe merely because that's what you asked for?

Pobblewhohasnotoes · 30/12/2013 14:07

I'm a nurse, I don't do phlebotomy, our HCAs do.

I expect when the doctor said to book an appointment with a nurse, they meant 'not with a doctor'.

You said yourself your veins can be difficult. Blood isn't always easy to get out of everybody and she did the right thing by asking for help. Should she have just kept on trying?

Maybe the surgery's communication could be better. But when I have bloods taken they don't introduce themselves to me. I couldn't care less if its a nurse or HCA. The worst person who ever took my blood was a midwife.

You seem to have this view that nurses are somehow better than HCAs. Even if you go private you'll still see assistants and HCAs. They have a very diverse role these days. Where I work our HCAs take their own work load of patients, I wonder how you'd feel about that.

Go private, go waste your money. I love how you think the NHS is a mess over one experience. Never mind, you'll just be freeing up appointment time at the GP surgery.

Chippednailvarnish · 30/12/2013 14:07

She's going private, woo hoo! More money to be spread around the rest of us!

MrsFassbender77 · 30/12/2013 14:07

For speed, customer service convenience and reassurance, there's actually nowt wrong with private healthcare.
However, a few words of advice.

  1. Don't use it for major surgery. I would NOT want to be in BUPA post-operatively after any major procedure. Give me the NHS hospital with on-site ICU/HDU facilities every time.
  2. Don't use it to queue jump. Mostly you will find yourself back at the bottom of an NHS list after seeing a consultant and then need investigation, for example CT/MRI or endoscopy and don't want to pay for these too. I think that they also add the time that you would have waited to see an NHS consultant to the waiting list for NHS elective surgery too (orthopaedic etc)
ChristmasDayIsAGoodDay · 30/12/2013 14:08

You may have a point, you may not. (fwiw, probably not imo.) However, like most people on here, I lost any empathy and respect the moment you referred to the GROWN WOMAN as 'the girl'. How rude of you.

HaroldTheGoat · 30/12/2013 14:08

Yeah the NHS is in a right mess aren't they? You have been given an ear syringe and bloods appointment in a timely fashion at your own local surgery, you moan and they give you a nurse.

What a mess.

mumtosome61 · 30/12/2013 14:10

Are you for real? The NHS is in a mess because it lacks money, is restricted heavily because of lack of money (which may be why a HGW was taking your bloods to ensure targets which are stated by the government) and people abusing the system.

Since you appear so vitriolic about a service yet not hasty to use it, I call bullshit. I think you were right to be annoyed about the lack of information over who was conducting your blood test, but everything after it has been pure bile.

For what it is worth, I very much doubt you'll see the same standards privately - you'll just be too ignorant to know better.

paxtecum · 30/12/2013 14:17

I haven't been to my GPs for about 3 years.
I'm very fortunate to have good health and I'm not overweight.
I have taken someone to A & E recently and the patient was treated incredibly well.

It amazes me how wonderful the NHS is and it's free.

flossietta · 30/12/2013 14:19

OP you were ridiculously unreasonable.

I'm a GP. In our practice we have doctors, nurses and HCWs. We do tend to group the nurses and HCWs as 'nurses' in one group but not in a derogatory way at all as they are our colleagues and we value their skills.

None of our nurses do ear syringing. Some do bloods. But those jobs (and various others) are the role of the HCWs. So if a patient would ask our receptionists for an appointment for an ear syringing, they would book you in with our HCWs.

Taking blood can be a challenging task. It is not unprofessional to fail at it at all. I haven't taken blood regularly for many years. I would trust a HCW implicitly to take my blood and wouldn't blame them if the couldn't, I have deep veins too.

You sound like a nightmare patient and a time waster.

roadwalker · 30/12/2013 14:19

Everyone struggles to get blood out of me. At blood donors ( where most of the staff were healthcare support workers ) they asked me to stop going
GP finds it difficult too. It doesn't mean they are not qualified.
The best I had was at my local hospital. It was a HCSW - I praised how well she had done and she told me I was her first after doing the training!
You shouldn't get a nurse because you demand a nurse. People have different skills and you will get the appropriate person
In private where profit is king you will get the cheapest possible and, as somebody said up thread, in most if you arrest during an op they dial 999

FryOneFatManic · 30/12/2013 14:20

There's no way any HCP can take blood from my left arm now, as after 40+ blood donations the scar tissue that's formed causes problem. Right arm is now in use.

And FWIW, the anaesthetist took 3 attempts to get a canula into my had for a CS. I know that at my own surgery, bloods are all taken by HCAs who are grouped with nurses by the doctors, as in "go and see the nurse". Even when my midwife needed blood, she sent me to the HCA.

OP I think you are a time waster. The only part I feel you may have had a complaint with is the fact they didn't tell you who your appt was with. You wouldn't let the HCA syringe your ears even though you can't have any idea as to her qualifications. You give the distinct impression that you looked down on these HCAs and appear to feel very entitled.

You are not coming across well.

roadwalker · 30/12/2013 14:22

Someone else asked how old you are OP
Do share, I would love to know

HotDogHotDogHotDiggityDog · 30/12/2013 14:22

Don't be fooled by going private.

BUPA are employing near me. Many of them are for HCA posts.....

Gruntfuttock · 30/12/2013 14:25

KellyHopter Mon 30-Dec-13 13:05:39
'Deep veins'?
Grin

What's funny about that? Confused

FryOneFatManic · 30/12/2013 14:25

HotDog you have a point. My mum was sent to a private clinic for one treatment and the person taking blood was indeed a HCA, not a nurse......

McFox · 30/12/2013 14:25

I'm most amused that you think that going private will satisfy your oh so lofty expectations. You do know that you will be still be dealing with HCAs etc don't you? And that some of the staff will do both private and NHS work i.e, its often the same people?!

People who act like you have done today are partly what makes the NHS a tricky behemoth of an organisation to run. Dealing with unreasonable patients is a nightmare, and it sounds like your practice would be better off not having to deal with you.

roadwalker · 30/12/2013 14:28

OP perhaps you should employ a GP to work just for you
Thats what Michael Jackson did and look how well that worked

meeeemo · 30/12/2013 14:30

i love it when you get an OP that just can not accept that they are unreasonable!! - no matter how many people tell them they are!

kilmuir · 30/12/2013 14:34

HCA's may not be bright enough to go and complete a nursing degree, but capable of practical procedures if taught properly.

EnlightenedOwl · 30/12/2013 14:34

I went to a private clinic once for a blood test.The receptionist did it - she was also the phlebotomist.
At our surgery the HCA does all the blood tests, new patient checkups etc. Sounds fairly normal to me.

sashh · 30/12/2013 14:36

I am shocked that many on here think that substandard care is acceptable because that is what I think it was

Sorry I wasn't aware that the government and HAs use your opinion to monitor training / assess levels of care.

randomAXEofkindness · 30/12/2013 14:42

YANBU. You asked for an appointment with a nurse and they didn't tell you that you couldn't have one, they weren't forthright.

People might not like your attitude here, but you are right. If they wouldn't give you an appointment with a nurse, they should have told you they wouldn't, not led you to believe you had one and then shouted "Surprise! It's not a nurse, it's a poorly paid, maybe qualified helper, with a title you're not sure about!" when you got there.

Maybe they could put up a notice in the waiting room explaining what the health care workers tasks are at that particular surgery and confirming that they are indeed qualified to perform them. Since the most medically invasive procedure coming under that job title on NHS careers is the taking of a temperature, I would not automatically assume that they stuck needles in peoples arms as standard. If they do, that needs to be made clear to people. Not everyone is content to just 'get what they're given'. Having been experimented on by an obstetric consultant using his own makeshift device, even after I'd questioned him about his training, I certainly don't take the fact the nhs staff are willing to do something as evidence that they are trained to do something.

I also wouldn't take for granted that a receptionist was in any way medically qualified. In fact, they make that point clear to me frequently on the phone when I ring for results. If one of them came over to give medical assistance, I'd probably ask them what the bloody hell they were doing as well Grin