Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to want to make a complaint?

27 replies

TinkerbellTwinkletoes · 10/03/2014 15:22

I went out shopping this morning to a homeware (wholesale type) shop. I am a full time wheelchair user and had my carer with me. We wandered around for a while and I then said I wanted to use the toilet. There are two toilets, 1 male and 1 female. Both are large and are fitted with pull cord alarms and pull down safety bars. I am able to go to the toilet myself so my carer waited outside.

After I'd used the toilet I pulled the bar down to enable me to stand to pull my trousers up, and the whole thing pulled out of the wall onto the floor. I am unable to stand on my own, and if it wasn't for the fact that my wheelchair was in front of me I would have landed on the floor. As it was I ended up hand sprawled across the chair and half off it.

I leant over and pulled the alarm cord which then came away from the ceiling and ended up on the floor. Luckily it still rang though. I could hear the alarm going off through the door and my carer asked if I could open the door as they couldn't get in (I'd locked it). The room wasn't too big so I was able to manoeuvre to the door to open it.

When I did there was a member of staff there who proceeded to talk with me whilst the toilet door was wide open into the entrance/exit. It wasn't until I asked if I could shut the door as my trousers were still around my legs that she realised. She just kept saying 'we've had it ages and it has never happened before'.

I was really shaken (still am really), as even if you have a medical condition meaning you can't walk you still don't expect to fall. I am sore and tender now.

The staff member obviously spoke to the manager as she came and found me and apologised and got me a drink.

AIBU in wanting to write to them to tell them what happened? Confused The screws holding the bar on the wall (which is supposed to be able to take body weight) were really short, and it was a plaster board wall too. My carer took pics so I can send them photo's of the rail and screws so they can see. God forbid something like this happen to someone else, the outcome could have been a lot more serious.

OP posts:
chateauferret · 10/03/2014 22:17

It might not yet be apparent if you've sustained an injury. Get checked by a doctor. Complain, report to HSE, and sue.

AmIthatWintry · 10/03/2014 22:28

Definitely complain in the strongest possible terms. It's not reportable to the HSE though, unless you went directly to hospital for treatment, which I don't think you did. So I wouldn't bother reporting it to the HSE. Reporting is a statutory duty, and criteria is quite clear, they don't really expect people to report just anything.

They need to have emergency action in place too, to ensure the staff deal with emergency alarms properly. Poor you, left there with hour trousers down. Totally unacceptable

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread