I need advice re making a complaint against a member of A&E staff

[KidneySchmidney]

So I got admitted to hospital for the second time in a week with MRSA that has come categorically from a cannula in my arm placed in A&E.

It's been swabbed and found to grow it so it's definitely that.

The cannula was inserted by a medical student who reinserted it 4 times, 3 x in my left arm and 1 in my right. It was placed on a table and fell off onto the floor, whilst they reapplied the tourniquet on my right arm and then reinserted.

I don't want them to lose their job or get into trouble but that's really bad technique and they need more training.

Please can someone advise me what to do?

Have they got a PALS service? They would be your first port of call.

Was someone supervising the medical student? (one of the doctors?)

They reinserted a cannula that had fallen onto the floor? Are you sure? they didn't open a new one while you weren't looking? that would be very odd.

and if that happened, why on earth didn't you say something at the time?

The Student reinserted the same cannula 4 times! Absolutely dreadful practice. New cannula for every attempt every time. Did they clean the skin prior to each puncture? I honestly can't imagine doing it any other way.

Personally I would complain, how will they ever learn if they don't find out the consequence of their action? If they are not made aware of it then they will repeat this over and over.

My DH has a Staph A infection right now and has just been released from hospital. You have my sympathies and I hope you have a quick and positive recovery.

@Readytomakechanges not whilst he was taking the bloods, and putting the cannula in. They came in when he'd finished and told him off for getting blood everywhere, as there was no dressing for the cannula and he forgot the vacutainer so used 3 20ml syringes to get the blood out and it just dripped out everywhere all over my leg, the chair and he floor.

@pigshavecurlytails...I can believe it happened-I once had a doctor drop something which was to go in my ear on the floor, and pick it up and go towards my ear, till I pulled her up and asked if she was actually going to do that

It absolutely happened. I didn't say anything at the time as I felt absolutely dreadful at the time. The one that fell on the floor may have been replaced I can't be sure. but the three x in my left arm were definitely reinserted.

My arm was cleaned but then touched again afterwards

Why didn’t you stop him??

There’s no way on this planet I’d let someone try and cannulate me with a cannula that they’d dropped on the floor!!!

They put in a cannula that had fallen on the floor? Really?

Don't go to PALS they are just there to catch complaints imo. The hospital's website should have info on how to complain, if not then find out the contact info for the Chief Executive. Make sure you copy at least one other person when you contact them. The only thing is you probably have no solid evidence but you can still raise your genuine concern.

I had sepsis I was feeling dreadful I just wanted the antibiotics to get better!

The Mrsa has come from the cannula there is not doubt about that

Where I work the same cannula will be inserted for however many attempts are are necessary unless the plastic kinks.

However, there’s is also the rule that if after 3 attempts the doctor hasn’t managed to get the cannula in then another doctor is called to have a go.

The Mrsa has come from the cannula there is not doubt about that

I don't doubt that if it happened as you said that was shoddy practice. But 10% of the healthy population carry MRSA, so you can't be 100% sure it came from the cannula. It's a skin commensal and would be unlikely to be on the floor.

My son has just had meningitis and the cannula took 4 nurses to pin him down and one who kept inserting it wrong (3 times), then it fell out, second time he was pinned again and the doctor tried and failed FIVE TIMES to do it, and it became so sore afterwards it’s still now swollen, before it was an absolute mess though. I then demanded somebody else to try and he had to have it in his wrist next to his bone with a splint on and it kept leaking because it was a “good vein”.
I never knew (stupid I know) that he could get issues from this though. If you’re sure it’s from that then yes I would absolutely complain. We’re only recently home so it wasn’t in my brain-space to complain before but I may do myself

The five times one was the different hand ^*

I'm not sure whether PALS would have much sway over medical students. There should be a doctor in the A&E department who's responsible overall for supervision of medical students.
If your ideal outcome is better training, you could write a letter FAO clinical supervisor of medical students and also to the med school giving the details of what happened and stating your required outcome is for better training.
It's important such incidents are fed back so the reason for the error can be identified and hopefully prevented from happening again.
Perhaps the student was flustered at not getting the canulla in first time and didn't find their supervisor approachable enough to ask for help.

A medical student or a first year doctor? There will be different people you can contact for each to raise your concerns.

@BigBaboonBum that's awful. It hurts so much having them put in. I'm here for another 2 weeks as it's in my blood.

The fact it's mrsa means nothing as it's naturally present on many people's skin and causes no harm until there's a break in the skin.

You should absolutely complain though. Hopefully the complaint will result in further training under supervison

@iklboo he said he was a 5tg year medical student. Called down from endocrinology to help out in A&E to do bloods

Actually, if the MRSA was grown in a blood culture and swabs were taken to determine the source, the hospital are likely already leading their own investigation into how it happened and hopefully putting in place improvements to their systems.

Perhaps ask to speak to the infection control team to ask about it.

*the way I worded that sounds awful. I'm not minimising that it's mrsa as an mrsa infection is awful, but in terms of complaint I don't think it being mrsa makes it worse than if it was staph that wasn't methicillin resistant. Ok I can't articulate this very well at all so I'll just shut up now

You cannot be categorically sure the MRSA was from the procedure. As pointed above, a good % of the population carry it.

You agree you are not actually sure the cannula fell on the floor and was reinserted. I would doubt it very, very much.

You are then left with complaining about a traumatic experience because it didn't happen smoothly.

I hope you get better soon.