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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To Think That I Shouldn't Be Expected To Do ... (Hospital Related)

23 replies

RockinHippy · 28/05/2014 20:24

Genuine AIBU as after been here in a children's hospital with DD for nearly 2 weeks & a whole LOT of problems, a lot centred around slack attitude by some staff members, I've sort of lost perspective & so I'm asking here.

Due to DD being kept in with a blockage in her bowel/colon - I was told this morning by the doctor that I now have to log every stool, so as for them to see if the blockage is moving before they X-ray again, she uses a tray, I photograph it & tell the nurses so they can make a note if it & clear the tray away etc

But I've just had one Nurse tell me ratger grumpily, not to do it any more as they don't need any more stool samples, she's training & obviously not happy clearing it away - I explained it's what the doctor asked for, which got a "well I wasn't here" & oh, then you can clear it away thenHmm

AIBU to want to tell her that it's not actually my job, but hers Confused think it goes to some special room anyway & presume I'm not actually allowed in there

She's left the sample that was meant to go to the lab on the windowsill too

OP posts:
ICanSeeTheSun · 28/05/2014 20:33

Tell her you would clear it away, but due to infection control policy you are not allowed to enter the sluice and due to Heath and safety not allowed to operate the sluice master.

Also ask to speak to the doctor regarding when to stop the samples.

ICanSeeTheSun · 28/05/2014 20:35

"well I wasn't here" ....... Reminder her to look at the hand over sheet.

Bellezeboobian · 28/05/2014 20:37

Is she a student nurse - just because you said 'in training'. A student nurse usually would just do whatever you said.

If she is, speak to a qualified nurse and tell her

BitterAndOnlySlightlyTwisted · 28/05/2014 20:37

This is the sort of task I'd want to do for my child as it's better done by a parent than a total stranger. But your child might not have much sense of modesty, I dunno. Depends on their age, I guess

About the nurse and her unhelpful attitude: I'd be looking for someone more senior to consult, because if the Dr has asked for this to be carried out then it needs to be done until the DOCTOR decides that it doesn't, not a bloody nurse. Full stop. I'd be shocked if it's not in her notes and it's quite reasonable to expect nursing staff to either read them or to be briefed properly.

TheBogQueen · 28/05/2014 20:39

I'd ask how much they are going to pay you...

Honestly what a cheeky mare

NotALondoner · 28/05/2014 20:59

You don't have to do any personal cares while your daughter is there. If you want to, fine, but if you don't want to, that should also be fine.

Sneezecakesmum · 28/05/2014 21:36

Is this a case of 'too posh to wash' nursing?

Ask an older qualified nurse to put a rocket up her!

Bellezeboobian · 28/05/2014 21:40

It's a load of crap the too posh to wash stuff.

My nurses were all younger and newly qualified and lovely, they were more concerned about getting me pain relief and all that. The older ones were more 'make do and stop complaining woman'

Pobblewhohasnotoes · 28/05/2014 21:41

If she was a student and was rude you need to tell a staff nurse.

I'm saying this as a qualified nurse.

NeedsAsockamnesty · 28/05/2014 21:44

One of the things that really piss me off about children's wards

When you have a disabled chid who is in and out loads you lose carers allowence and DLA yet you are still expected to be there often sleeping overnight in a chair attending to all the care needs and additional disability related needs.

When I was staying with my DD I met 4 other families with disabled children who were at breaking point over and above the stress of having a very sick child due to not being able to fund the additional needs

MammaTJ · 28/05/2014 21:45

A student nurse usually would just do whatever you said.

I am a student nurse, most likely seen scrabbling for the handover sheet when told something. I would go by that initially, then ask the trained nurse I was working with, rather than have attitude with a patient or relative.

LittleprincessinGOLDrocks · 28/05/2014 21:45

Go have a chat with the nurse in charge of the shift (Sister or most senior staff nurse). They should know what the Dr has said on ward round and be able to sort this for you.
The student should not have said that to you, if she really wasn't sure (either why it needed doing or for how long) she should have taken the tray away and then spoken to the nurse in charge of your childs care for clarification (and then followed the Drs instructions as documented in the notes).

Electriclaundryland · 28/05/2014 21:46

You have my sympathies. Ds was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis this week so I've been doing similar things for him. Its pootastic round here.

Your nurse sounds unhelpful.

HaPPy8 · 28/05/2014 21:46

Cant it just be flushed down the loo? Why would you need to go in the sluice?

LittleprincessinGOLDrocks · 28/05/2014 21:56

If it is in a "tray" (I'm guessing it is a paper mache bed pan) HaPPy8 it will need to go in to the sluice. There is a special machine which breaks down the paper mache using water.

MrsMaturin · 28/05/2014 22:00

It needs to go in the macerator. Civilians can't be messing around with that Grin They get blocked all the time with just the nurses working it!

Pobblewhohasnotoes · 28/05/2014 22:07

People put nappies in it, then it blocks, it's disgusting!

Canthisonebeused · 28/05/2014 23:49

Sounds like a miss communication possibly. You say the dr wants you to log every stool. The nurse is saying they don't need any more samples. Logging and samples are quite different. How old is dd? And is she able to use the toilet? Sounds like the nurse should have clarified for you what is needed though.

RockinHippy · 29/05/2014 10:21

Thanks everyone, I should have clarified...

DD is 11, she is mortified, but needs must & the less fuss by nurses the better - this is the paper mâché trays that go inside the toilet, she uses it herself in the bathroom & was told by the doctor to put it on the windowsill for me to photograph & then get the nurses to discard it - Doctor wants to see for himself, & the nurses are meant to keep a descriptive chart anyway, though seems some haven't been, hence why he now wants the photos.

We had yet another tray to discard - now 3 lined up on the windowsill attracting flies Hmm so on taking DD off ward for some fresh air with DH for a couple of hours - I mentioned to this nurse AGAIN that the trays needed clearing away - she just glared at me

Getting back to the ward, another shift had taken over - & the trays were still there Angry thankfully we are the only ones on this ward at the moment! but I hated having to get the new nurse in charge to deal with the left trays & made a point of telling her I had mentioned it several times to the nurse on the last shift, who seemed reluctant to deal with it - she was lovely & dealt with it immediately

I made a mistake, it's a Nurse, not a student nurse, DD thought she was a student as she has been rude to her when I've been away in the kitchen too - DD calls her Grumpy Knicker Grin She's back on duty today, so will see how it goes with the next tray to clear

Though this is just the tip of the iceberg as to things wrong here & poor handovers have been a huge issue all through

Nurse in charge yesterday is also a slack one & had me taking stool samples to the sluice myself when I first arrived - 4 days with practically no sleep meant I didn't even think to argue & don't get me started on my stolen shopping

Thanks for your input, it just seemed so picky compared to everything else wrong with this place, so I'd sort of lost perspective

Thanks Electric sorry to here you are going through it too, it's no fun at all - Hope your DS recovers & copes with the changes soon too.

They've thankfully now ruled that out for DD, but hers turned out to be a very bad blockage, down to the Gastroparesis part of her a Ehlers Danlos - which up until now we didn't think she suffered with, turns out she's had a blockage going back years & this has caused what seemed to be IBS related daily Diarreoh, turns out this was triggered by a bout of Gastroenteritis - they've also pin pointed a very bad allergy to something, but we don't know what yet - they are still trying to clear the blockage & we are here until it's at least at the "of little concern level"

I thought we were looking at Diviculitis, Chrohns or Colitis too though, so did the gastro doctor, so as tough as this has been for us all, especially DD, I know we've got off lightly & feel for you Flowers

OP posts:
RockinHippy · 29/05/2014 10:23

Hear, not here Blush

OP posts:
PrincessBabyCat · 29/05/2014 10:36

Wow.

I'd be throwing a bit of a fit and reporting her and threatening to leave them outside the door in the hallway until they were dealt with. That's ridiculous, you should not be in a room that is suppose to be sterile with poop on the window sill.

RockinHippy · 29/05/2014 11:21

Put like that Babycat you are so right Grin

I will be kicking up a big stink if it happens again(excuse pun) - which is likely as seems we have "Grumpy Knickers" again today - which is a shame as 2 of the loveliest Nurses are on duty today, but just not on our ward :( - both have already popped in to see how DD is doing - which is more than Grumpy has done

OP posts:
NearTheWindymill · 29/05/2014 13:26

Note it all carefully now, before you forget, with names, dates and times. Ask to see the Senior Nursing Sister and speak to her about it calmly but quoting from your notes. Dreadful attitude and no you aren't being unreasonable; the nursing staff (or some of them) are being slapdash, lazy and incompetent.

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