Should I complain about this? (Any nurses especially please) ?

Ex nurse of 40 years. I had a similar bad experience in a private hospital and I didn’t complain. I’ve regretted never complaining so I strongly suggest you do. Whether you were an NHS patient in a private hospital or you were paying for your treatment their behaviour was unacceptable and unprofessional and clearly affected your recovery

Shinamae

Lucca

Poor you, that’s not acceptable.
As it happens I’ve just put the phone down on my surgery (normally very helpful) as I was about to either start crying or swear.

Ring up and asked to speak to the practice manager and complain

Definitely complain to the practice manager in writing. Things will only get worse if they do not realise how their behaviour is affecting people.
I had to ring my practice this morning for an appointment for Blood checks I was dreading it as we usually get a crabby answer.
I know a lot of people have even changed practices, but complaints have obviously worked. The receptionist was friendly and listened.
She did not question my date of birth which sounds like a code, realised we had a big music festival near us and the roads would be blocked and called my village by its local name. All of which put me at my ease and I thanked her for her kindness and help. Which was good to be able to do, instead of coming off the phone in a weeping huddle.

Presumably as it was The Nuffield, you were also paying for the experience somehow too?

Yes you should complain, write to the Chief Exec who will no doubt be horrified and at least there they might actually do something, where the NHS sweeps it all under the carpet as I know from experience and they lie!

I have had several experiences like that and as a nurse myself I know how it should be done! I was once left in an ECG cubicle, half naked for about 10 minutes with nothing to cover me and people peeking around the curtains looking for the nurse that should have been with me!

The worse was following major abdominal surgery - I had been in ITU for 4 days and had just that afternoon been transferred down to the ward. I hadn't as yet been out of bed and was still pumped full of good drugs when I woke to find my new colostomy bag had fallen off and I was covered .... I have never been racist but after using my call bell, 4 huge great black nurses descended on me and were just awful to me - basically they were pissed off that they had to remake my bed. They said I should have been looking after it, (hadn't even managed to see it at that point) and shouted at me to go and get a shower (didn't know where it was, hadn't even been out of bed except in a chai in ITU) Told them I hadn't been up yet so they literally threw a zimmer frame at me and I had to walk myself with drips and drains and try and shower it all off. Funnily enough, I fell, couldn't reach the emergency pull so had to wait until they came to find me, when they shouted at me again for falling over! The next morning asked to see Sister and went nuts - even got to the Consultant who apologised .... it was just dreadful.

The other one was in A&E Feb 2020 - self treated at home for what I thought was a bowel blockage and haven't had dozens I know when I need more help and call an ambulance. This one was very bad - they gave me Oramorph which I had already had quite a bit of at home but the pain was so bad I was screaming in agony, in a corridor next to the nurses station and was ignored and told I wasn't due any more Paracetamol for another 3 hours! I had to get onto my belly to try and lean onto the pain but trolley sides were up so crawled to the end and got myself onto the floor when the trolley went flying into the next poor sod lying in the corridor. Now I must have passed out as remember nothing until I woke up in Scanning, but I wanted to know what had happened. I am disabled so no way I could get back on the trolley myself but no, there were no falls in the Unit that day, rubbish! When I woke up I was more comfortable so they must have given me something as the next thing that happened was my consultant arrived saying my bowel was dying and I needed surgery now! The whole thing didn't get any better, the surgery was fine and anaesthetists are always great but the aftercare nowadays is awful .... that was my 22nd surgery in 2 decades and have since had 2 more, so I do know what I am talking about, but it seems they don't believe anyone anymore ...... sad.

It has clearly really upset you or you wouldn’t even be thinking about it now. Complaining will help you to process it and recover.

Sorry, Fanny ,
I missed this yesterday. I'm glad you started to complain.
First, they should have told what the procedure would have entailed. Then they should have asked your permission for someone to practise on you. ]Which should have not been on a day when you were feeling so poorly] The junior nurse should have practised on someone who was up and about first so she was reasonably slick.
If you don't get a reasonable response write again to the Consultant who did the original op. He would probably like to know what practices were going on in the department. He needs a competent team.
I'm not Medical but live with someone who was.
I hope you get a satisfactory reply and an apology.
Take care with your recuperation.

Lucca

Poor you, that’s not acceptable.
As it happens I’ve just put the phone down on my surgery (normally very helpful) as I was about to either start crying or swear.

Ring up and asked to speak to the practice manager and complain

You get what you pay for!

Thank you so much for all of your lovely, supportive replies.

TuSue in particular, you’ve helped me to organise my thoughts.

And some very sad experiences too

I have just completed the online complaints form.
I will keep you updated.
Thank you again

Oh dear FC, what a dreadful experience! The ECG machines are notorious for having tangled wires but that's no excuse.....as you say, that should have been sorted earlier. The staff certainly should not have asked you to raise your nightdress until they were ready to put the 'dots' on your skin. Even then, they should have spoken directly to you, asking you 'is it alright for me to apply the dots' etc. Indeed, they should be asking permission to do anything to you and you should be informed every step of the way.

Certainly, lodge a complaint, these two members of staff will not change their behaviour until it is addressed formally. It's not about losing staff their jobs, it's about respect for the patient.

I hope you regain your confidence with such procedures and I wish you well.

I think you show strength of character in coming on to GN, telling us what happened and asking for advice. You haven't let this horrible experience leave you as a quivering wreck, so good for you!

Hi Fanny ,

First of all , get well soon .
Secondly , please complain .
This is the treatment that my terrified, elderly , sick ,intimidated father often has at the local NHS hospital .
I stand my ground these days .
I didn't used to.
I used to be brow beaten by it .
Now I'm more assertive .

They aren't allowed to do any procedure without your full permission .
And if someone is receiving instruction - they have to ask you . They could have covered up your lady bits !

Wishing you every good luck with it .

FC, yes, you must put in a formal complaint somehow. GrannyLaine's suggestion seems like a good idea (to someone who knows nothing!).

But know this: early on in my current job I sent an email complaint to the local council because the way our health care bins were being emptied (actually not properly emptied) struck me as totally Not Good Enough. I used those words. This caused outrage amd ructions at the time but, in due course, over the next five years (!) things improved.

Which makes me think it's always worth complaining about unprofessional behaviour for other people's sake.

I'm sorry you had to suffer what sounds like disrespect and hope you can do what you think right and move on

Fanny from a slightly different perspective, you need to speak to someone about this. If you don't, it will always be there like a maggot in an apple. Not sure if there is a PALS type mechanism in the Nuffield structure, I'd be inclined to make an appointment to speak to the Matron. Tell her about the good parts of your care but also about how much this incident upset you and what you would have wanted done differently. Once you've spoken to her/him you can leave it there at the hospital and move on. And oh boy! this kind of thing most definitely happens in the NHS. My daughter had unspeakably horrible treatment from a very senior midwife who should have been caring for her in labour.

It sounds like the 'mentor' nurse has probably bullied the other one which will have made her nervous.

I agree; in which case reporting her is even more necessary. No one learns anything when they're under duress from a bully, so FannyC would be doing a good thing in exposing it. Bullies don't like being exposed.

It sounds like the 'mentor' nurse has probably bullied the other one which will have made her nervous.

Unfortunately I definitely didn’t exhibit anything like strength of character!

Strength of character is not usually to the fore when you are unwell and in hospital.
That's what allows some staff to basically bully patients.

Definitely let the hospital know, Fanny.

Yes complain. It sounds as though the older nurse was in a mentor training role. She shouldn’t be
We found Pals fantastic recently
Hope you’re feeling more thebthing Fanny c. These incidents are worse when we are
At their mercy x

You'll find a Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) in most hospitals.
Yes, PALS is a good place to report this....With Pals you can talk it through just as you have in your OP. stop it from happening to another person.

Yes, you should definitely complain. Following a fall I recently had a 8 day stay in hospital.

One afternoon I was asked if I would do a sitting/standing BP test which I agreed to. The following day the consultant asked if I would do a sitting/standing BP test so I obviously said I'd done one the previous day. There was no record of it in my notes.

I was on a saline drip which started leaking all over my hand and the nurse said the cannula had come out. That cannula was removed and no attempt was made to replace it but the consultant mentioned the failure to find a suitable vein.

Around noon on the Thursday the consultant said I was medically fit for discharge. The discharge team weren't told by the ward until the following morning which meant a delay in the delivery of a 'hospital' bed so I could sleep downstairs until I could manage the stairs. I finally got home on the Sunday.

Throughout my stay I had problems getting in and out of the hospital bed and needed a bit of assistance which I got until the Saturday night when a nurse I'd never seen before told me in no uncertain terms that I 'didn't need any help as I'd been going to the toilet by myself.' She was really nasty and made me feel awful.

I contacted PALS about a week after I got home & received a reply saying they would respond within 5 working days. On the 5th day I got a phone call from the ward manager who apologised and went through my complaints with me and corrected my notes where necessary. She couldn't understand why my BP results hadn't been recorded but would talk to her staff to make sure it didn't happen again. The delay in informing the discharge team was blamed on an agency nurse being unfamiliar with the discharge procedure. The nasty nurse was also an agency nurse who the ward manager didn't know. I was already aware they were agency nurses as I'd spoken to a senior nurse before I left the ward who said I should contact PALS. I'm glad I did.

Please put in an official complaint, I’m a nurse and this is disgraceful behaviour.
Firstly they should have introduced themselves and explained what they were needing to do and why it was needed,they should have asked for your consent to proceed and if you had any questions.
Next they should have been more organised and sorted their equipment out before approaching you,they should have asked if you would consent to a trainee doing the ecg procedure.
Modesty should be preserved at all times
They obviously weren’t doing it correctly if the pads or leads kept coming off.If a patient has made a comment about not being comfortable with the procedure THEY should have apologised not you.
As for the condescending remark later on, I would have said you may think you’re professional but you obviously don’t behave like a health care professional.
Shame on them.

Sounds awful Fanny. Sounds to me as though they had been asked to do something they weren't trained for.
My ECG took about 5 minutes. The nurse was very professional and explained as she went along what was happening. She apologised for me having to be bare chested for the procedure.
I would agree that you should make a complaint. Not acceptable.

I don't understand what your complaint would be, is it your nightie was up for longer as the wires were tangled or that the nurses did not speak whilst doing the ECG. The nurse that patted your knee could have mixed you up with someone else as you have not said anything that would elicit the comment that she would not hold it against you, unless you have missed something out.

Sorry about that experience. Definitely report it. If you don’t, it could happen again, to yo or someone else. I found PALS very useful for sorting out my complaint.

Do report it, Fanny. Quite often hospitals know that something isn’t right in a department or with a member of staff but they don’t have anything tangible to go on. A complaint can be just what they need.

A member of my family recently made a complaint about a senior member of staff. It was the exact nugget of info the hospital needed and proper action was taken against this person.

I recently spent one night in a hospital after having a rotator cuff surgery. I’d only been back in my room for about an hour when I needed a bedpan. The nurse didn’t place it properly underneath me and so I wet the bed. Two night nurses came and asked me to get out of bed. I had to stand in a wet gown till they replaced the sheet and I was feeling awful. I was then asked to get back into bed and neither one of the nurses attempted to help me and it was such a struggle for me to try and get myself up on the pillows with my arm in a sling.

I said that I thought they could have helped me and asked if it was for ‘health and safety’ reasons and one nurse said yes, we have to look after our backs. They knew that I’d had a block and that my arm was completely numb. I’ll never forget how they both just stood there watching me trying to get back into bed. It was such a struggle. The younger nurse came back to take my bp later and she helped me up onto the pillows and made me more comfortable.

I think you should say something Fanny. It’s so undignified isn’t it.