Blood test nurse with NO appointment got firemen to damage door.Who pays?

[logiccalls]

Someone who goes decades without any G.P. contact (being allergic to chemicals, and therefore never wanting to get pills) decided to get a private health MOT: The results were excellent, except for one which indicated it might be advisable to take a further blood test via the N.H.S.

The person was permanently disabled by a violent and stalking ex, therefore finds it difficult to get to a surgery, and asked them to send a home visiting nurse to do a blood test. This is a person made resilient by adversity, and keeping as healthy as possible, so with no history of mental problems or heart problems or anything else. (And even the requested blood test was resulting from a private MOT, which the NHS knew nothing about)

The GP has never been spoken to, just the receptionist, who promised to pass on the request for the blood test .

There was no further contact: NO appointment: No response: No email: No phone contact: No letter: No text.

Many weeks later, suddenly, a stranger had got into the block of flats, without using the intercom, and was agressively hammering on the flat door and trying to force the door handle to turn.

There was still no phone call, email or text. It could have been any intruder, inebriated, deranged or drugged. The occupant stayed silent.

The mobile phone rang, but with a witheld number, (which someone who has previously been stalked would of course never respond to.) Eventually, the stranger at the door went away. (There had been a parcel outside the door, before the stranger arrived, and as soon as she left, the occupant could at last open the door to retrieve it, and did so.)

An hour (?) later, a man was beating on the door as if to smash it in, and shouting. The occupant is deaf, but was obviously not going to open the door, to violent strangers, so again stayed silent. (But, because the parcel had been taken in, was clearly not lying unconscious on the floor for lack of a routine blood test, for which there had been NO appointment.)

The hammering on the door continued for hours, (?) and although the phone was constantly being rung, it was never used to send a text explaining there was any legitimate reason to attempt entry.

Later, it turned out the nurse had called the fire brigade, and it was their men taking over from her in battering the door. They then began to drill holes in the door.

The occupant had been unable to use the phone to try to get a lawyer, or to ring for any possible help from neighbours or the building caretaker. The 'number -witheld' calls were coming constantly.

With the flat's front door being destroyed, there was at last no choice for the occupant except to go to the door and call out "Who are you and what are you doing?"

A fireman explained who he was, and that there was a blood test nurse who had claimed that the occupant had "failed to attend an appointment for a blood test", which apparently he believed was justification for smashing the door. (?!)

a)There was NO such 'appointment'. b)The occupant had no idea who the nurse was, or the fireman was. c)Nobody texted.

But could it ever be reasonable to smash the door of someone for such a minor reason, for someone with no medical or mental illness history, and with evidence the person has taken in a parcel, so is obviously fit and well?

This is bullying and abuse of power, instigated by that extremely aggressive nurse, and enabled too readily by a fire brigade who were colluding in the constant phoning, yet never requesting a text should be sent, to a deaf occupant, to identify themselves or the blood test nurse, or to give information about the alleged "appointment".

(The medical records will not show much contact with the NHS, for decades, but there would be a note about deafness, so the fireman's statement that he had called out the word 'fireman' would not be justification to destroy a door.)

There is no house insurance. The front door is a security door and a fire door, so will be expensive to replace. Large holes have been drilled through it. Is it true, as the fireman suggested, that the NHS surgery will be liable to replace the front door?

Therefore, there can be no justification for claiming the person had "failed to turn up for a blood test".

What on earth are you on about?

You were expecting a home visit. You weren't expected to go to the surgery.

Are you okay? Really? Not much of what you're posting makes much sense.

I can't help wondering whether it takes more time to traipse to the home of someone who doesn't know your coming, and is out, or to pick up a phone.

If you are afraid to let them know your number, you might even try leaving a message.

They HAVE her number.
She said that- and her email.

She won't answer her phone if the number is withheld.

Many organisations withhold their number for safety and to prevent clients or patients ringing them willy-nilly.

I get that the DN can’t give a fixed time but I think it makes sense to give a day/half day window

pp gave an example of a relative who struggled to get downstairs to the door so if they knew the day a family member/carer could get them settled downstairs to wait

I would imagine a lot of housebound people can feel quite anxious/vulnerable answering the door (as in ops case) so having some warning would be helpful

and to people saying ‘you requested a visit so you should have been expecting it’ - how long a period would you wait to chase up if the DN hadn’t been round?

I think people are confused that your using deaf which typically implies total loss of hearing rather than hearing impaired, so can hear but not well.

but why didn't you call the police? if you'd cancelled the call and dialed 999 no one could have called you and they'd have attended immediately when you told them there was an assailant trying to break your door down and it was possibly your previous stalker.

Yes he’s saying the DN could have left a voicemail

There is a "ring doorbell, or similar" It is an intercom, outside the building, to stop anyone entering unless invited by a resident, who can view and speak to them, (if they are at home, and ready for the visit) and can then click open the main entrance door, and in turn, can open their own flat door a few minutes later. But the nurse avoided using it, and somehow sneaked into the building without invitation, without displaying herself on camera and without speaking to the occupant. (Who could in any case have been out of the building, if a friend had taken her out, even into the grounds, or for a drive.) .The nurse was in any case not in a "nurse uniform", from the brief glimpse through the peephole of the flat itself. She was in a black track suit.

Why didn’t you shout through the door? I understand that you can’t hear them but they would hear you

This is such a lot of nonsense.

Everyone knows that anyone can sometimes enter without using the intercom because sometimes they follow someone in, piggy-back them, or the external door is not closed.

So sensible people get their OWN security measures.

Given you have been stalked it's nothing less than incredible that you have not put measures in place.

Sorry but you are making excuses. I am talking about why YOU personally don't use measures for your safety and I'm sure you understand that.

You're just avoiding questions you find awkward .

Posters aren't going to support you when you blatantly avoid these questions and like to pretend it's all someone else's fault.

But the nurse avoided using it, and somehow sneaked into the building without invitation, without displaying herself on camera and without speaking to the occupant.
what benefit to her would doing all your suppositions do for the nurse?

Was it actually a nurse or was it a ninja?

@logiccallswhy didn't you call 999

"Spy hole, window, ring doorbell" Well, no windows onto a communal corridor. Spy hole on the flat door, yes, but that showed a glimse of a total stranger in a black tracksuit, but mostly only of a shoulder, as the onslaught on the door included barging it trying to break the lock, battering and hammering, and violently snapping the handle up and down, so mostly just a track suit shoulder, or nothing visible. Addicts do at times get into the building.

You are right though,there is the equivalent of a ring doorbell. It is out on the street to stop strangers gettinto into the building, unless a resident sees and speaks to them on camera, then presses the button to admit them into the entrance hall. This woman had somehow sneaked in, probably by following a legitimate resident through the door and being too aggressive for them to risk challenging her.

A teenager mutant ninja turtle even?!

The justification wasn’t that you ‘failed to turn up for a blood test.’ It was that you were a person who claimed to be totally housebound who didn’t answer her door despite extensive knocking, so the nurse was genuinely concerned for your welfare.

but that showed a glimse of a total stranger in a black tracksuit, but mostly only of a shoulder, as the onslaught on the door included barging it trying to break the lock, battering and hammering, and violently snapping the handle up and down, so mostly just a track suit shoulder, or nothing visible. Addicts do at times get into the building.
ah so now it’s the tracksuit clad ninja nurse who broke the door down?!

Wait here, there is a peephole?

It makes 0 sense now. So are the firefighters all in "black tracksuits" too?

Don't expect an intercom to prevent people coming into your building. When I used to visit a lot of patients in flats, invariably somebody would be coming in or out of the front door and hold it open for you.

One block the intercom had been broken for years. However you never had to wait more than 5 minutes before somebody opened the door.

NHS staff are trained not to leave messages on a voicemail that doesn't identify the phone owner.
Our phones either come up as 'number withheld' or a central switchboard - for both our protection and the patient.
Us - being hounded by patients who think the have a personal hotline to the nurse/doctor
Patient - people have died after leaving messages on the phone of someone who is off sick/on holiday/not on shift and waiting for them to call them back for advice.

We don't give out personal emails for the same reason.

Nope, you can't phone people up as you go. 1. there are minimal admin staff. 2. If you get someone on the phone, half of them will want to chat even though you have called to say you will be there in 30 minutes. 3. For each call on the road you need to find a private place your car hotspot the notes system on your laptop, assuming there is mobile reception, find the number, and then make a notes entry to say you made the call and what happens.

Each phone call would be taking 20 minutes at least, without allowing for more than a couple of sentences of chat.

Honestly was the tracksuit clad person even the district nurse?

they have protocols and there’s no way she would have tried to shoulder barge the door down!

this is turning into a (very) tall tale

Or they'd ask the caretaker to let them in so they could carry out a welfare check. That's normal (and why FIL is only permanently disabled, rather than dead).

Or she said "im after nurse im off duty but I've called back because im worried about a patient can I nip in, she's deaf and vulnerable "

the firemen were in black tracksuits or the nurse knocked the door in whilst the firemen watched?

If i ring up my GP and request a blood test to be done at home and then a nurse turns up to do a blood test, you say that is not an appointment? I don't understand what is so confusing. Many nurses have commented and explained. I see a lot of people that struggle to get seen at home then you read stuff like this- its bizarre. I agree, more communication was needed in this instance (not the nurses fault, or the GP if the OP hasnt been in years and failed to mention their very specific support needs when discussing their need for a home visit) but the guff about whos paying for the door and the nurse being a big devious bully sneaking around buildings and bashing down doors is ridiculous.

Anyone who was seriously worried they were in danger would contact the police not a lawyer when feeling threatened and you can make an sos call whilst there’s an incoming call happening.

why don’t you have a ring doorbell surely you’d need to check who’s at the door when accepting parcels, pizzas etc?
it sounds like you’re a bit bored and making up tales