To put a complaint in about this nurse

[wonderingsoul]

Yesterday i went to the doctors because i jad another earache. I suffer them fair bit. Insaw a nurse which was fine. Told her i thought i had had an ear infection but it felt different from all the ones iv had before.

It was painfull in the sence incould tell it swollon and i would get searing pain randomly but it wasnt really painfull painfull all the time. The nurse had a look said it was swollon and a bit red so woyld give ear drops just incase there was infection too due to my history. Iclv had these drops before.

All good. Once i got home i put the drops in and with in minutes i was in intense pain. The kind that brings you to your knees.
So i went back to the doctors and saw a doctor this time who said i had a nasty infection all over and down to my eardrum and was very swollon. She also said she would not have given me the ear drops as 1 i needed something stronger and 2 it could have aggrivaited the ear.. which is has.

The pain has not gone and is 1000 times worse its gone from bearable to constant horrendouse pain where even pilled up on condine. Paracwtmall and ibrofeen its not stopping the pain and iv litterally had 1 hours sleep

Now i know doctors and nurse makes mistakes there only human and im not over for a appogie i just feel that maybe the nurse needs to be told that she messed up. The difference in what they diagnoised was big imo and the nurse should seen that along with the fact that im in so much more pain because she gave the wrong medication.

So would ibu to write a letter of complaint?
I dont want to get her introuble just more of you need to be more througja i guess.

Yes

Personally, I dislike the "Should I complain" brigade. The nurse made a simple error. It happens and I'd be surprised if the GP didn't mention it. If you feel you want to say something ring and ask to speak to her or pop in and see her. Much better to say it directly to her in a nice way than her get a complaint letter sent to practice out of the blue. Have the adult conversation.

I think the nurse should be told she prescribed the wrong thing, otherwise how will she learn.

I think I would write in, though I would not make it a "complaint" letter exactly, more a "letting you know what happened" letter and could they reassure you as to how they will change things/do more training etc to make sure it doen't happen again

That said, sometimes we react to medication in unexpected ways and it isn't usually possible to know who will react in what way. I think medicine/prescribing is sometimes more of an art than an exact science.

bumbling thats more of what i want. I feel like she should be told and maybe given more training. I know it was a mistake on her part and like you say shes only human. Shes of my christmas card list though.. for shaw....

The doctor did say it could be aallergic reaction to the drops but as iv had them before ahe doubts its that.

I don't think she made an error though- that's the nature of differential diagnosis, sometimes all the evidence points to the wrong conclusion. You had had these drops before and they had worked. Your medical history fitted. It's easy for the doctor to say "oh I wouldn't give that etc etc". I'd wager the same thing has happened to the doctor at one point.

They didnt though. The nurse didnt think it was infected it was. She only gave me them because of my histroy. She didnt see how far down it went ethier.

Nurse opinone was swollon and little red . Drops just to be safe

Doctor was very swollon with a nasty infection that runs deep.

Had the nurse reconised that shed have given me anti b by tablet.

Yes but she is a nurse and not a Dr! My son was seen in hospital regarding an ear infection. The junior Dr said it was fine. Consultant checked and said it's really red !!!
Just experience and training.

Personally, I dislike the "Should I complain" brigade
Perhaps if an incompetent nurse causes someone's death someone should just have an 'adult conversation' rather than complain

In hospital they won't even give antibiotics for ear infections unless they have swabbed (well here they don't)

devil this was at my Gps you cant see a doctor for infections only the nurse the only reason i saw the doctor after wards was because the reaction to the drops.

Only on MN is earache the same as actually dying

I'm sure the GP will have already mentioned it to the nurse and had it dealt with internally but if you're really concerned have a grown up conversation with them to improve things rather than just complaining.

I know OP - my point was they if you end up in hospital due to ear infections (ds3 did as they gave him seizures) they won't give Antibs unless they have swabbed. So they would disagree with your GP's prescribing.

I'd say she probably will be told about it and feedback given internally. Unless you actively complain you won't be told they've been given feedback but in my experience she'll definitely be asked about it (what made you think it was xxxxx. Ok well actually it was yyyyyy and here's how you tell.)

I'm currently pissed off at a misdiagnosis from NHS and I'm contact with PALS.

But in this instance you Abu. You didn't see how the ear was the day before so perhaps it was not infected.

I think of a situation with my son. Swollen eye, dr didn't know what it was but gave him drops just in case
Back at GP next day for a different dr to prescribe piriton in case it was hayfever.
24 hours or so later severely swollen eyelid, strong ab's luckily not hospitalised and urgent referral to eye Dr from initial GP (after she phoned eye dept immediately)
There was no way the initial 2 Drs could have seen how it was going to progress.
And ultimately once symptoms showed themselves more she was able to treat it more appropriately

It doesn't actually look like she made a mistake though. Just that, on balance and with the additional knowledge they now have after you took the drops, the standard course of treatment wasn't right for you this time.

And please do keep in mind OP, what the doctor saw was different to what the nurse saw. You've said yourself that you were in far more pain after the drops. There's likely to have been more swelling and redness when the doctor saw it, for precisely that reason, even if the drops were what aggravated it.

She didn't make a mistake, your ear canal was red and inflamed, given your history she prescribed drops. You used drops and either a) developed a reaction to them ( not predictable at all if no previous history) or b) the redness and swelling were the early symptoms of a more acute infection which subsequently developed.

If the GP has any cause for concern over NP's diagnosis or prescribing he will I'm sure discuss it with her.

Nothing to complain about, it's life sometimes everything points to a but it turns out to be b.

I think certainly feedback the error.

I've had the worst earache recently and found the pharmacy sold 400mg ibuprofen which just took the edge off. That and red hot water bottle which I know isn't recommended but by god it worked so at the time I didn't care

How long was it between appointments? Ds suffers from ear infections and the practice know that with him mildly red and a bit sore can easily be ear drum ruptured and major infection with 12 hours.
So she may well have prescribed correctly for what she saw.

This is what happens as doctors delegate more and more responsibility to the nursing staff. The nurse is a qualified nurse but she is not a doctor.

I think the management at the practice are to blame, not the nurse. It's a scandal that nurses are taking on a doctor's responsibilities and being paid peanuts for the privilege.

I'd have a chat with the practice manager about how they are delegating doctor's jobs to nurses.

There was 45 minute between the appointments. Intook the drops soon as i got home. And got a appointment with in 10 minutes of phoning back up.

devil i understand what you are saying but im not going to go to hospital for a ear ache so a gp shoud be able to prescribe anti bs.