Should I complain about this nurse

[AprilF00L]

or just let it go?

My very vulnerable, very elderly neighbour fell in his house recently and was treated in his home by paramedics.

Today as I was rushing out to an appointment a district nurse approached me and said that she was there to visit my neighbour but he wasn't in/ This really alarmed me due to his vulnerabilities and physical state. I asked if she'd looked in all the rooms and she said she had. I got her phone number to contact her after my appt.

On my return an hour later I came across her again. She told me that she had returned to see if my neighbour had returned home.

He'd never been out. He was sleeping in bed. She lied. She hadn't looked in every room. He could have been dead for all she knew.7

I'm so annoyed at her lying. So unprofessional. AIBU to report her.

If you are concerned and think it warrants reporting, then do it.

But don't check in here because you're either going to be told you're a liar and ruining this persons life OR berated because of course you should and you should have done it there and then and not come to MN and dithered about.

And yes they can let themselves in, one let themselves in here even though I expressly said not to incase our dogs were in the hallway. She'd also walked into the wrong house down the road looking for me, much to the perfectly able bodied residents total confusion!

Ridiculous thread. She approached you because she was concerned about your neighbour, and then returned an hour later.

What the fuck is the actual problem? It's not like she just buggered off. He got the care he needed.

YABVU.

It sounds like the gentleman is not very mobile so pretty sure the district nurse would know the key safe number.

The keysafe number would usually be noted on his medical record, which the district nurse would have had access to.

I think this is a wider issue than whether she lied or not. Yes, she should have looked upstairs. But DNs are overstretched, so many patients are discharged from hospital without a care package, and you would not believe the amount of time wasted by patients who are out when the DNs call on them (especially as DNs only visit patients who are housebound).

I'm not a DN, but deal with them. This is another wider NHS problem.

We are, actually.
but if she didn’t have a code for a key safe (if there is one) and he wasn’t answering, then she couldn’t get in. Only look through windows.

The point isn’t the nurse going in or not- she actively lied? Why say you went in and looked in all rooms then change your story? Op, I think it’s lovely that you are looking out for your very vulnerable neighbour. Elderly people are particularly at risk from poor care. Just because someone is a nurse, doctor or other profession, it doesn’t mean that we can’t question them. Unfortunately, an elderly relative received really poor care and I wish someone around would have intervened or questioned their actions.

Not necessarily- of course she should have the key safe number, but more than once I was dispatched to a house and nobody had thought to give me the number. Of course if that’s the case the co-ordinator should have checked that.

I’d report it OP. If she didn’t have the key safe number that’s a point to improve in his care and a cast iron alibi for her. We have agencies coming out to elderly PILs, one is great, one is shit and rinsing the system. Anyone working with vulnerable people should be trustworthy. If they’re not then they should be sacked.

My auntie has dementia and lives in an average sized 3 bed house. Twice the carers have documented that they couldn't find her in the house. The 1st time the carer didn't tell anyone and just left, luckily I have access to the care notes and check periodically, the 2nd time the office called my stepdad. BOTH times she had taken herself to bed. The bed is visible from the bedroom door, from the landing, from the top of the stairs. I would contact the company. Carers are overworked, but patient safety must come first

Sammylady37 thank you for a sensible response. I would be horrified if anyone caring for me or my relatives discussed anything with a neighbour. No wonder the poor nurse looked flustered.

She came back later…. Sounds like she just couldn’t get in at the time. You don’t have all the info. Why people so quick to complain. No wonder there is a recruitment crisis.

Sounds like he is mobile enough to get himself upstairs in his townhouse though!

Doesn’t negate the fact the nurse didn’t find this man. I literally don’t think that this is true - a town house, even if very large, is not so huge you can miss a practically bed bound man! This is just not true. I mean…really?

Dn here. Because our remit is to visit house bound patients we must always assume they’re in (they are often out and it’s very frustrating at times but that’s by the by.)

as a previous poster said, we have strict rules and guidance re: safeguarding and following up patients we can locate or access.

when I enter a home with a key safe (most of our visits have key safes) I will call out and announce myself. If I have no response I will check every nook and cranny! I’ve been known to pull back shower curtains because I hate the thought of someone having fallen and me missing them.

I suspect this nurse went in, called out and when they got no response assumed they were out. She may have made a decision to check and follow up before looking around sooner. I imagine when she left she didn’t just jog on and carry on with visits. I think she probably liaised with other colleagues, family or even carers. She probably had a read back on S1 to see what happened at other visits .

its highly likely she discovered he never goes out and this prompted her to return and do a more thorough check, where she found the gent in bed.

im sure it’s been a learning curve and I’m pretty sure it’s something she’s already discussed with her managers.

Need to get a life OP

Today as I was rushing out to an appointment a district nurse approached me and said that she was there to visit my neighbour but he wasn't in

She didn’t check with neighbours. She was about to drive off as I left for my appt. I asked her how my neighbour was...

OP you have made both of these statements above in different posts which one is the truthful one and which one is a lie?

None. None at all? Absolutely no chance at all that she didn’t, in fact, look in every room? Considering she DID miss an entire human being (a super slow moving one who wasn’t playing hide and seek) in a house?

and if she was stressed because the service is over stretched, and did her job badly, she still did her job badly. Next time your taxi driver crashes because he’s been working overtime due to the economy tanking, bad bosses and is tired - you can say well the poor love wasn’t to blame and pay for your own whiplash treatment.

and if you have a surgeon who takes your kidney instead of your appendix because the nhs is shit and he’s flustered, I’m sure you won’t put a complaint in, right?

but seriously, you do not know this nurse. You have decided she is a victim simply due to a bias based on the fact you are a nurse too. Have you really never met any bad nurse? They’ve all been veritable angels yeah? Right. You care so much about your patients and “put them first” so much so that you can’t even believe someone would dare think about complaining about someone you’ve never even met… hmmm.

And it’s pretty obvious you really dislike nurses, so surely you must be biased as well.

Also in another post you describe the man as practically bedbound, but that wasn’t mentioned in the OP.

The likelihood is the truth fell somewhere between the two, but we’ll never know because even OP has a very limited knowledge of events.

Why do to you say trust me like that? Like trust me I know because I do it? Or trust me I know because I’ve seen other people do it? In which case you know that it’s good people are looking out for this man because some carers can be bad

This is the strangest thread. How on earth do I dislike nurses. How is that clear? I love some nurses. Including beloved family members whom I trust to be kind and thoughtful professionals. Including nurses I’ve had over the years who I remember fondly. I also know, like all people, some are capable of being not so good. So I don’t think op should just be jumped on as labelled as crazy because people, like yourself, don’t want to admit some nurses are capable of being neglectful.

He takes about 5 minutes to make his way to the door here is where I got practically bed bound btw. I mean, you’re the nurse.,..Perhaps he’s just a easily distracted old man but to me, anyone who takes 5 minutes to get to the door is struggling rather than just pissing about taking their time. And it seems like a dreadfully long time for someone who isn’t at least close to being bed bound or heavily chair/sofa bound.

Some carers are bad, there’s not much evidence that this district nurse (there is a difference) is bad.
We don’t even know she was away for an hour, OP was and met her again when she returned? She’s got no way of knowing OPs relationship to her patient, so why would she go into detail with her?

The OPs question was should she report her- for what? She was under no obligation to discuss her actions with OP, she returned and fulfilled her duties within an hour, and her patient was fine.

There is a degree of risk in looking after vulnerable people in the community that you have to accept, presumably this man wants to be home and has an understanding of this risk.

Well. Thanks for all your thoughts. Just to let some of you know, I have cared in a minor way for this man for the past 2 years after his son died...he has no-one else. I have visited him in hospital after he fell down the stairs, I have fought social services on his behalf when he wasn't being cared for properly. I fought so hard that I had to actually take a step back. He has no relatives.No family left. He's left at the mercy of social services.
Perhaps I am over-protective of this lovely old man, suffering from dementia and severe mobility issues but if I won't look out for him, who will.

Thank you for the people who have understood my predicament. I only want the best for my neighbour. I won't report the nurse and hope that she has learnt a lesson.

Ok for starters , not really any of your business to be reporting a nurse who is not looking after yourself or your family as you do not know the facts . Secondly everytime people like yourself make these complaints who do you think has to deal with them ? The managers of the district nursing team , therefore the managers that are already under great pressure and mostly working with reduced staffing capacity then have to sit at their desk for hours to follow complaints policy and investigate what’s hapenned when they in fact need to be out doing calls to support their team members . if you really are so genuinely concerned it would make more sense to speak to this gents family about your concern if of course it is genuine concern and not just because you e nothing to do but stir up a bit of drama to keep you busy for the afternoon .

my mums a district nursing manager and I’m fed up of her walking out of her door at 7:30-8 am and getting home at anything up to 10pm in the night , mainly because of time wasting complaints against her staff that are untrue and carry no foundation ! no wonder nhs nurses are worn out and end up off sick from burn out and stress when the public are hell bent on looking for the negative all the time , had that nurse not have come back after your discussion then any normal caring human being would be concerned but she did , so exactly what do you want the resolution for this situation to be … what would you be happy with ?! … another nurse on temporary dismissal when in fact she has done nothing wrong . I’m hoping that the many responses in this thread have given you some food for thought for your ignorance to a situation that you quite obviously know nothing about, there’s being caring and there’s just being a busy body trying to find ways to fill their day up 🙄🙄

Huh?!

What does that even mean? As in, trust me, if you’re fucking your job off then you don’t come back, because otherwise, you wouldn’t be fucking your job off… Common sense no? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Something which is not in abundance on this thread.

learnt a lesson ? what lesson exactly do you feel she needs to have learnt ? Pick up the phone to social services if your that concerned and have a discussion not lodge a complaint but a simple discussion , why has everything got to be a “ complaint “ or “ report them “ ? You quite obviously haven’t learnt a lesson yourself .
so so fed up of the public treating nurses with a target on their back , granted their are good and bad in every walk of life but I believe your judgement is poor!