To walk out of blood donation

[awesmum]

I just did an hour round trip to donate blood, they were really conscientious about cleanliness and we were made to queue outside, clean our hands, maintain distance. Then it all fell apart, the nurse inside handed me a glass of water having touched all around the rim of the cup, handed me pen and paper, took glasses of other people - 12 in total, handed them back, gave out more pens and paper, handed crisps and biscuits, then scratched her head, took her glasses on and of put them on her head, put her hands in her pockets. And NOT once sanitised her hands, washed them or any other cleaning at all. Suffice to say I told her - she argued told me I was I wrong. I just watched her!! So I left. No blood donation, but I am not prepared to risk anyone I know or care about because someone who is seeing hundreds of people everyday isn’t bothered.

Seems fair enough if you weren't comfortable. It does seems a bit ridiculous to have lots of things in place to make it safer and then a human just does what they want without considering it.

My mom aged 79 was made to queue outside the GP surgery for ages. Then they let her into the waiting room and kept her there for over an hour, with other people all around. 4 days later she had covid 19, having not been anywhere else. (She's fully recovered btw). She was only there for a shot. The nurse could have come outside to do it, but that would have required a bit of initiative and imagination. No you are not being unreasonable. It would only have been unreasonable if you had sloped off without explaining yourself.

@Crystaltree do you mean the nurse could have come outside, on to the street to do the shot?

Crystaltree I’m sorry to hear that your poor Mum contracted Covid 19 at the GP surgery. I’m surprised and disappointed to hear how your Mum was treated as when I went for a pneumococcal vaccine my experience was exactly the opposite. I was given a time to attend and had to knock to get in. Once inside I was sat in waiting room alone until the nurse, who was wearing PPE, called me through. I was a bit anxious before I went to the appointment but must admit I was impressed with the process.
I think maybe they didn’t do your mums shot outside as people are known to faint.
Glad that your Mum has recovered. 💐

Presumably it would have been the surgery car park. I can't see how that would be any different to the flu jab you stand in line for to be administered in the waiting room!

I get why you angry. However I think you would have had a better impact and actually changed how this nurse behaves if you had spoken with the senior person there, rather than just walking out.

Because you just walked out, you'll be seen as a 'flouncer' and nothing will change.
It's not too late to contact them and explain what you saw

YANBU, and you should follow it up with an email explaining why you walked out.

I had to laugh walking past my GP surgery the other day, one of the nurses was doing a consultation through the front window, the old guy she was talking to seemed to be hard of hearing as they were both shouting. She was hanging out the window, I can't see why it was better than seeing him inside or going out to him. It just looked bizarre.

This is why I'm not donating blood at the moment. They might want my blood (O neg) but I'm vulnerable so I can't take the risk. They were a bit when I told them this. Your Op has made me glad I did.

I spoke to her, I also spoke to the nurse out the front. Then followed it up with a call to the Blood Donation line.
The actual woman was really defensive and aggressive when I told her.

You should make a formal complaint, definitely.

Make a formal complaint. I donated blood some weeks ago and everything was disinfected and we got to keep the pen we used to fill in the form, used shoe covers and masks and when someone got up the whole unit was disinfected. She is a shoddy worker.

Well done for speaking up OP, I would have been horrified but might not have dared say anything. I am going to try and follow your example and speak up.

I have friends who work in the NHS as doctors and nurses and admin staff and they admit that many of their colleagues are far more lax around hygiene and hand sanitisation than the majority of the public.

They put it down to the fact that they have all had to continue going in to work while most other people have been locked down, and that the nature of their work requires them to get close to others at times. Because they haven't yet caught the virus they're beginning to feel immune to it. One of my mates talks about going up to a ward where there was a single patient in bed and finding four bored nurses sitting practically touching each other while a fifth did their hair in up-dos.

After weeks of hand-washing and glove-changing they're bored and fed-up and standards are slipping. I watched a nurse in her scrubs approach and hug and kiss a man who had only hours previously flown back from Spain on a crowded plane. Then she got in her car and went to work. I've just been asked whether I want to go and have an annual blood test at the local hospital and I've said no.

My dh said exactly the same thing about the blood donation centre in our city centre, absolutely no ppe or social distancing despite a ridiculously long phone call from them at 8pm the night before

How did the Blood Donation Line respond? I gave blood recently and was watching like a hawk, having not been out for ages before that to anywhere populated.

They were exemplary, and nothing like your experience. She needs training better.

[quote michelle1504]@Crystaltree do you mean the nurse could have come outside, on to the street to do the shot?[/quote]
Could easily have had my mom sat in the car and come out to the carpark.

@awesmum I had a very similar experience with giving blood about a month ago.
They were sterlising some things (donor document packs, the beds that people lie on) but not the drinks bottles, or cups.

In the waiting area they sat us 2m apart, but when called in by the donor assistant I was surprised that she sat very close to me. I get that social distancing is not possible at every point in the process but there was no reason not to do so while she was running through the questions.

She asked me to sign the form and pointed me to a pen. I asked if it had been cleaned/sterilised and she said she didn't know as she hadn't been in that booth before, but I was welcome to do so myself (she pointed me to some anti bac wipes). I didn't mind doing so but I don't think I should have had to have raised it.

She came to do the finger prick blood test with no attempt to change her gloves or clean her hands, or to ask me to do mine. I asked her if she was going to clean her hands/change her gloves and she said there was no need (ffs!!!! does she not understand even the basics of Covid transmission??!!!!), she changed her gloves regularly (but not between each patient!!) as that's what she'd been told to do. She explained that it was not a 'clinical enviroment' so they did not need to clean things.

I told her I was appalled and walked out.

I complained to NHS blood and transplant and got an apologiest call from Matthew Jones, who is an Assistant Director of NHS Blood and Transplant.

He told me that absolutely the assistant should have cleaned her hands and asked me to clean mine before the blood test and that the pen should also have been cleaned. He said he would ensure that communications were resent to all donor centres reminding them of the proper procedures.

It is utterly disgusting that this is still not being done. Donors are literally risking their lives to give blood at the moment.

Please let me know if you would like Matthew Jones mobile number, I would definitely encourage you to complain. On the basis it is anonymous I will probably send him a screenshot of your post as based upon it there is absolutely no way I am going to give blood any time in the foreseeable future.

I was at an outpatients clinic recently and the receptionist handed me a new mask, sanitised the pen and sanitised the chip and pin machine before I used them.

I had bad experiences donating blood (fainting bruising etc). So it's a good thing I don't donate any more.

If I did donate regularly, seeing PPE and 2m distancing & sanitiser & treating all objects like they were biohazards & objecting to people touching own face: that ridiculously exaggerated perception of risk would put me off. I'd want to wait until things could feel normal again then have to stomach it all.

Luckily I have fairly useless blood anyway.

Oh blimey - I am going to give blood tomorrow evening, having not been anywhere other than to the beach or for country walks with the kids since the end of March. I am not vulnerable and have a mask to wear as per the text blood.co.uk sent me but I will take my own pen, bottle of squash and anti bac with me just in case I come across what either OP or @girasol did!

You did the right thing to complain, and yes, to go.
I hate it when people - anyone at all - hand out glasses of water or cups of tea or whatever and hold the cup by the rim. It's disgusting and unnecessary even without COVID and SO many people do it and then get defensive when it's pointed out to them. Grim.

@Nannewnannew

Crystaltree I’m sorry to hear that your poor Mum contracted Covid 19 at the GP surgery. I’m surprised and disappointed to hear how your Mum was treated as when I went for a pneumococcal vaccine my experience was exactly the opposite. I was given a time to attend and had to knock to get in. Once inside I was sat in waiting room alone until the nurse, who was wearing PPE, called me through. I was a bit anxious before I went to the appointment but must admit I was impressed with the process. I think maybe they didn’t do your mums shot outside as people are known to faint. Glad that your Mum has recovered. 💐

This was exactly my experience too, except the nurse didn't have PPE at that point as it was literally the first couple of days of lockdown.

I tend to try to think through a risk assessment. so if I have to touch anything anywhere - a pen, or a door for example, it's not actually a potential risk unless I then touch something else - like my face. I went to the local pharmacy last week. I hand sanitised before entering, then again on exiting - had to touch the door to open it!

OP good for you walking out and I hope the nurse is given training - especially for the handing out of water glasses and food

People would totally understand if they were asked to bring their own pen, water bottle and snack with them. That would remove a huge headache for the staff.

I’m glad you complained, it’s the only way to make sure this doesn’t happen again. The person obviously needs either further training or needs to be removed from the frontline.