Come on old maggot legs

[CocoChan]

Took my grandma to an appointment earlier ... leg dressing. The nurse came out and said “come on old maggot legs!”. My grandma smiled awkwardly and went into her appointment. Another bloke in the waiting room said “she calls me mouldy toes”.

When My grandma came out I asked her what the maggot legs was about and she hushed me and said in her last app she had maggots on her dressings.

My grandma was dead against me complaining. WIBU to complain anyway?? I’m feeling bad as my grandma doesn’t know she’s the centre of a complaint but the nurse said this in front of other patients!!

@Sentos

Maggots are often used as a wound dressing. They are specially bred, are sterile, and come in a little teabag type thing so they don’t wander off.

Ex NHS here. I've seen this treatment on leg ulcers. Fascinating.

Whether the maggots where supposed to be there or not it shouldn’t have been broadcast to the entire waiting room surely?

Yes she shouldn't be referring to someones condition in public. Totally unprofessional and in breach of confidentiality. It's the sort of thing that could potentially stop someone from attending further appts. You did the right thing in complaining. Health professionals are meant to build rapport but that definitely isn't the way to do it. Totally disrespectful to your grandma too.

I would definitely complain about that, I think I would be fuming if a nurse did something like that to me! I can't help but wonder what my nickname would've been last year when I had a cervical ectropion

Good grief. The nurse needs to learn to read her patients' facial expressions and body language. Some people might respond well to that sort of dark humour, but if your grandmother looked awkward or uncomfortable, that was the nurse's hint to tone it down a bit!

I'm not sure I'd complain, if your grandmother doesn't want to raise the issue.

If I heard that in a waiting room, I'd assume it was just an over-the-top joke about someone having some type of infection or "rot" in their leg. I'd never assume actual maggots had been involved. Sounds like the man with mouldy toes probably thought the same.

I’m shocked by this. Your poor GM.

Sense of humour doesn’t come into it. It’s not an appropriate thing to make a joke about.

I too would complain.
How rude and unproffessional!

That’s not ok. Defo breach of confidentiality and also humiliating. Imagine saying ‘come on leaky bum’ to someone with continence issues.

Also teabags and maggots wandering off! Sheesh

Mouldy toes didn’t seem happy either

Well, one wouldn’t would one?

Fascinated by the maggot teabags. Would not want to be mixing those up with my Tetleys

Unacceptable. She may be one of those people who infantilises the elderly and treats them differently to the way she would treat younger patients. It needs to stop. It's not amusing and it's disrespectful. Please complain.

Just because someone is a nurse doesn't make them an angel.

Clearly as they were maggots, your granny needs more regular bandage changes and better fitting and some more support as your granny didnt know they were there so this nurse should be putting these things into action and doing her job.

Nobody deserves to be treated like that. Your granny is vulnerable due to age and health , this nurse is clearly using that to poke fun knowing that she is unlikely to complain.

Surely the main issue you should be worrying about is how your poor nan ended up with maggots in her dressings. That is medieval.

Your grandma, and the other patients, deserve to be treated with dignity respect and confidentiality.

I would always support medical staff against complainants - but this has gone beyond what is acceptable.

If the maggots werent part of the dressing how and why were they there? Maggots, produced in the lab are often used to get rid of old dead tissue in ulcers. Maggots that turn into flies shouldnt be there.
I work as a nurse and Ive come across this kind of weird name calling before, supposedly humour. I worked with a nurse who would call things a name, like the sliding sheet we use to move patients, she called Wally. 'Edna, just sliding Wally under you'. It was ridiculous.
You can complain if you like. It will prompt an investigation and the nurse wont know who has complained. Or the next time you are in have a word with the nurse and ask her to stop, reminding her off her conduct.

No sorry
And I feel that you being concerned about complaining flags what worries me that now, due to the Boris approved clapping bollocks from a few months back we are all made to feel even worse if we complain. It used to be the excuse was "but it's free" and that used to annoy me as it's not technically free at all as we pay tax towards it, dentistry, prescriptions and other things are far from free, and bad service is bad service.
I would be mortified if she referred to me like that, and more to the point why was the dressing left long enough that maggots appeared? For her to make a joke of it is very unprofessional, and actually, breaches patient confidentiality as well.
Sorry but yes, really do complain.

I’m a nurse. Used to be a breast care nurse and petitioned the hospital to stop the practice of women having to sit in general waiting areas in gowns basically broadcasting why they were there.

Sounds to me like inappropriate use of humour - nurse thinks she is helping but is not. Seen it loads of times. At the very least, she needs called out on this and to reflect on her practice. It’s sad to say that some nurses would rather take the easy route and upset patients rather than admit they are in the wrong.

Absolutely inappropriate! 😱😱
I would complain!
Unfortunately it seems they don’t teach manners at universities 😔😔😔

Awful !!!! Complain 100%

Sorry but this 'humour' is in very poor taste and frankly very unprofessional. If this comment was said to my grandparent I would have complained.

Utterly inappropriate, patronising and unprofessional. She should be disciplined.

I'm a nurse who works in a long term care of the elderly ward - more specifically, a dementia ward. Depending on the patient, an inappropriate sense of humour is what the patient responds to and thrives on. For instance, we have a patient and sometimes he is referred to as "quaver toes". This is because his granddaughter came to visit one day and said "eww grandad, your toenails are like quavers!". The patient and staff thought it was hilarious and so now staff will sometimes say "right quaver toes, let's get you in the bath" and such like. And the patient laughs away with this. Equally he has some hilarious choice names for us!

Obviously the sense of humour has to be judged on the individual though. Did you find it awkward because you don't have the same rapport as the nurse and your mum has and you were taken aback? Remember that your gran likes this nurse because of who she is as a person and a professional; that includes how she interacts with her. Your gran likes her for a reason and her inappropriate sense of humour could be a major part of the reason why they have a good nurse-patient relationship.

Ultimately, I'd let your gran be the guide of this. If she wishes for a complaint to be taken forward, then assist her with it. If she doesn't, then don't.

Hugely unprofessionally. Absolutely needs a complaint. Your Gran is probably worried about what care she will receive afterwards - well, I would think maggots mom her dressings means her care currently is also below standard and needs checked too!!

I would complain, it’s really unprofessional. You could make sure you stress it’s a complaint from you rather than your grandma.

As a compromise maybe just ask for this to stop rather than actually complain. Maybe she doesn't realise what she is saying is embarrassing her patients? Surely it's a patient confidentiality issue?

@CocoChan

No idea, my grandma said the maggots were discovered on her last visit so clearly not meant to be there

That would concern me more than what the nurse said. Is your grandmother having trouble caring for herself?