To complain about immunisation nurse.

[LEMtheoriginal]

My dd had her HPV vaccination today. I'm all fairness she is a big wuss and finds the whole thing too much.

She was very scared and kept pulling her arm away and was crying. The nurse was not sympathetic at all. Fine! I was actually quite firm with dd mostly because there were smaller children in the same room and I didn't want her upsetting them.

This is my issue "if you don't have this you might get cervical cancer and if you do they will put a big probe inside you and burn it away" I mean was that really necessary??

Then after the jab dd became faint and she pushed her head down on her knees so hard that she nearly hit her head. Twice she did this and told dd off for sitting back up. In the end she had to lay down on the floor as she was about to pass out.

Now I'm the first to admit that dd doesn't handle this sort of thing well. Which is weird because she is a real toughie if she hurts herself. So yes actually do please be firm to get the job done but then fucking acknowledge she was brave and be kind.

It's the comment that has upset me. I know only too well how important this is as uve had that horrendous treatment she spoke of. Now I'm worried dd won't have the booster.

I should complain shouldn't I?

'I'm fairness the nurse just explained the possible consequences of not having the jab.'

"if you don't have this you might get cervical cancer and if you do they will put a big probe inside you and burn it away"

Do people really think that is a good way of describing it?

I would be complaining too. There is absolutely no need to describe treatment options in those terms, in fact they shouldn't have been mentioned at all, unless they were going to be explained properly. I think she was setting out to scare a teenager, and that is really not on.

If there wasn't time to deal with a needle-phobic patient, then a new appointment should have been made at a time when it could be dealt with properly in ways which will help reduce the fears (to save NHS time in the longer run), not set out to terrify the patient (who had withdrawn consent) into reversing that decision.

Scaveola - you made a good point there. I actually feel really guilty for not standing up for my daughter and stopping the whole thing.

Having had cervical cancer it is important to me that my dd is protected so when the nurse said that if she kept jumping she wouldn't be able to to have it I said to dd that this was really important and would prevent a horrible disease. That is when the nurse made that comment.

Had she given me the option of having it done another time.with more time to prepare dd I would have taken it but I didn't know this was an option.

I feel I have let dd down really and should have stood up to her. Especially when she kept pushing her head down so roughly.

And I did explain what the jab was for. She had also been spoken to about it in school but it wasn't done at the time because of a clerical error. She was sat in the chair ready to have it but I had consented online and not on paper - several other children had the same issue.

I wasn't prepared for her reaction at all. We had told her yes it would hurt but would be over quickly blah blah. As I had said previously dd is actually quite stoic when she injures herself so I thought it would be ok. However she recently reacted badly to removal of a sticky dressing and had to lie down. So is she needle phobic? I don't kniw? She is probably pretty scared now! She got upset when the nurse said there would be a plaster.

I am absolutely going to follow through with my complaint. As I have repeated umpteen times on this thread I agreed with being firm but this nurse was vile. Even when it was clear that she felt unwell she was still berating her. "You need to calm down why are you getting in such a state over a baby injectiin. Look at all these babies they are being btave"

I wish to God that I had said something but I think I was just shocked. Intimidated and didn't want to cause a fuss in front of other children receiving tgeir jabs.

Thankyou those who have been supportive and helped me realise this is not acceptable. Quite different but I am a veterinary nurse and as such I am responsible for my actions. If I handled an animal as roughly as this woman handled my dd I would expect to get bitten be taken to task over it!

I think your daughter had withdrawn consent and that should have been the end of it. The nurse didn't handle it as well as she might have done, but you were in the room and did nothing, so I suppose she thought she should plough on.

I think you wanted her to have the jab because of your own experience with cervical cancer. I'm a massive fan of immunisation, but in the case of cervical cancer, there are other ways your DD can protect herself in the future so deciding against this one wouldn't have been a huge deal.

No she had not withdrawn her consent - she was asked if she still wanted it. She just kept jumping away. I don't think people actually read posts

Ok so I have followed up my email with a phone call. The lady asked me how I would like to go forward. I explained that my own "request" is that my dd is given privacy for the vaccination in 6 months and that we do not have to deal with this nurse again.

This is not about being vindictive but I do not want a repeat performance.

You are not being unreasonable at all. It sounds like something out of the Victorian times! Totally unacceptable in this day and age.

Yes the nurse is human and was possibly having an off day but she is a professional and should behave as such. I hope your dd’s next experience is much more positive.

why complain if you recognise what she said is true? It seems a bit OTT to me. Do you have an empty life you have to fill with complaining about stuff?

I would have complained about your daughter holding things up and making such a ridiculous fuss.

"No she had not withdrawn her consent - she was asked if she still wanted it. She just kept jumping away."

I really don't get it, that op was right there and didn't do anything. She is an adult. Could have asked to do it another day, etc. Instead, she didn't do anything, didn't say anything, and complaining now. I really wonder if everything what she says is totally true, especially she made it sound like the nurse was really horrible from the start.

Yea I just made it all up

I should have said something at the time yes.

Kimmy is there really any need to be so unkind?

Ignore them LEM, lots of nurses in my family and they wouldn't treat a young girl like that. My daughter is needle phobic so I sympathise. Hope your daughter is feeling better now. You did the right thing to complain.

Not saying you made it up, I just think there maybe a built up to what happened in the end, that nurse may have lost her patience.
Not saying it's right, but we really don't know what really happened, so I feel uncomfortable saying that nurse was horrible, and from some comment, some people think she shouldn't be in her occupation.

KimmySchmidt1 I tell my kids to look both ways and listen before they cross a road because it’s dangerous if they don’t. I don’t tell them that if they’re hit by a car their bones would shatter and their organs would be mince. There’s such a thing as empathy, and age appropriate statements!

I've had pre-cancerous cells removed with loop excision and I've had worse smear tests. I don't have HPV. The nurse might be creating all manner of new and more serious phobias, like fearing smear tests.

Notreally, scare tactics sometimes works, and keep them safe. My ds has seen half squashed animals/birds while in Scotland. He knows what happens if you are not careful. He never cross roads without being careful, while his mates cross it without looking.

Agree with elfinpre

Those comments about probes and burning were utterly appalling, and I can see no justification for them whatsoever.

Nurse shouldn't have said that but I can understand why she did.

Was your daughter milking it a bit in the hope of a day off school?

Yeah nurse was out of line saying that but she was reacting to your daughter acting like a bloody toddler.

No one likes injections. We sometimes need them though.

Complain OP.

Also for the booster has she tried coughing? Sounds crazy but if you cough you don't feel the needle as much. Getting her to cough and asking the nurse (hopefully a different one) to inject out of her line of sight might help.

I'd be looking to get your daughter some help for your daughter as she won't have you to hold her hand when she is older and might pass on important vaccinations.

We all have things we find difficult and can suffer from anxiety as well. I can tell you from experience with DD1 that when someone is in full panic attack, telling them to effectively pull their socks up and get over themselves does not help one bit.

She was sat in the chair ready to have it but I had consented online and not on paper - several other children had the same issue

DD1 had the HPV jab at school recently (to no ill effect) and we were all only asked to fill in an online form, nothing on paper. So they also got that wrong. Sorry you and DD have had such a tough time of it.

And "scare tactics" are very 1970s/80s. There are better ways of doing things, like telling the truth and using kindness rather than ramping up the fear.

The fire brigade coming into school when we were little and showing us horrible injuries of burns might have been done with a noble aim but it took away any enjoyment of Bonfire Night I may have had until I was old enough to know that my fears were disproportionate.

Yes pl pl complain - unfort your daughter won't be the only one she treats badly. She is also giving misinformation. I've had cin 3 on my cervix - tested negative to the virus. Having that jab doesn't stop cervical cancer - it reduces a woman's chance of catching the wart virus. The wart virus increases the chance of some cervical cancers but is not responsible for all of them.