treating open wounds - can't get an appointment to repack it!

[lurkinginthenorth]

I had an abscess removed yesterday. It left me with an open wound that needs redressing and repacking daily.
It was repacked this morning before my hospital discharge but I was told that I had to make an appointment with my own surgery to have the nurse repack it. I thought this odd as thought they were supposed to do the contact. Afterall, midwives on maternity ward arrange with commnity midwives to make visits!
So phoned surgery this afternoon to be told no appointments tomorrow. I can have Friday morning - 48 hours after it would have been last packed. Id this right?
I was told I could go back to hospital (but not told of where!) and don't fancy a 45 minute drive with two kids in tow (one of whom is ill) or leave my name and number and they'd get back.
Tempted to ring tomorrow again to give name and number.

It isn't a pleasant experience but don't want to make recovery worse. I also asked hospital about weekends and told they may just do it first thing Monday morning!!!!

What's the point in being told a wound would need repacking daily only to find that getting an appointment is notoriously difficult and weekends don't count! Maybe this is what Cameron really meant when he said the NHS needs to be 7 days a week!!

What shall I do?

do you have a walk in centre nearby?

or call 111 for advice? it needs proper wound care to avoid infection.

Konserve is right . Can you ring GP again ? I had similar with a wound that needed attention ,no appointments available but when I pushed I was fitted in and seen by a nurse - at surgery .

Agree that it needs proper care.

When I had similar, the nurse/receptionist at the practice took care of it for me (she was lovely, too). Is something like that an option in your area?

For some unknown reason to me, my practice don't have anyone working today to do my dressing. They won't send the district nurse because I am mobile. I have to go to minor injuries on days the surgery practice don't have anyone, including weekends.
I have been badly let down by the NHS the past 10 days. If this problem had been dealt with by the hospital the first time my GP sent me up, I wouldn't be in this mess now. But money was a big factor; "We don't get paid to do these procedures" I was told despite the procedure I needed being necessary because it was infected. No antibiotic would shift it and guess what? As said by me and my GP, it didn't and I cost them even MORE money because they didn't do their job the first time and now I am left in pain and having a wound redressed everyday.

Ring them back, leave your name/number for the nurse to call you back and they will arrange to fit you in. DH had an abscess that had to be drained (and then go to theatre later that day as it bled and bled and bled) and the nurses could always fit him in even when there were no actual appointments available.

I'm a practice nurse. We get this a lot. Hospitals tell the patient to phone to arrange their post-discharge dressings, which they do when they get home. We don't have any appointments for maybe 24-48 hours because we are full. And if there are no appointments, there are no appointments. We always do our best to accommodate the patients (I squeeze them in anywhere I can and frequently run late, finish late etc) but it doesn't help when I say to the patient "I can see you at 1230 but only at that time" and they say that's not convenient for them. Grrrr.

The community nurses won't visit because they're understaffed and overstretched and will only visit the truly housebound and terminally ill. We are hugely busy with all the patients that are no longer seen in hospital who now come to the surgery. It's horrendous.

And we don't even have any weekend provision for dressings as the funding was cut for the out of hours nursing dressing service. So our patients have to do their own dressings, ask a family member or wait until Monday morning, which has a knock on effect for that day and then the rest of the week. It's not acceptable.

Anyway sorry for the rant - I sympathise. I suggest making as many daily appointments with your surgery for as far in advance as you can. Go to minor injuries today and over the weekend. And if you have a willing family volunteer ask your practice nurse to teach them how to do it so you have a back-up plan. You shouldn't have to, but sadly that's the state of primary care provision nowadays. We've just got more work than we can cope with.

Hope you're better soon.

Thanks Sidge
Minor Injuries were brilliant with their response to my issue. They were/are annoyed with GP surgeries as it is a regular occurrence to them. They are more than happy to re-dress it.
I have an appointment at my surgery tomorrow but unfortunately, Minor Injuries said it is them that has to do it on a weekend. I live in the countryside so it is an annoying trip - 25 minutes each way. Luckily I have DH to drive me and DM and MIL to look after my two little ones.
So today Minor Injuries, tomorrow GP surgery, weekend is Minor Injuries again and will try and make all appointments for next week tomorrow at my GPs.
I have nobody willing to learn to re-pack my wound and quite frankly I don't blame them for saying no. It isn't pleasant!

I don't blame them either - it's a job that most people would find quite gruesome! And if your cavity is in a personal place you'd hardly want your mum or brother packing your perianal or labial abscess...!

Anyway I'm glad you can get it done today and over the weekend even if it is a bit inconvenient. I wouldn't wait for tomorrow to make next week's surgery appointments as they'll be filling up fast - get on the phone and do it today. Generally speaking our nurse appointments for next week are full by Thursday lunchtime and often that includes our urgent and book on the day appointments

Thanks for the advice. Went to my local minor injuries. They were fab! Said to make future appointments and if I am stuck (weekends most definitely) I am to go there. I was in 10 minutes.
He asked me if I wanted to see it. I said no! (It's on my back!) but he said it was an 'easy' re-pack as it is a crater - 4cm x 2cm and 1cm deep. Also looking at at least a month of healing though it won't need re-packing everyday he said.