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

Just a little update.
For some daft reason I was feeling really anxious about the complaint business, so I rang the Hospital Director’s PA.
She was absolutely lovely and really put my mind at rest.
She asked if I wanted to tell her what had happened; I did, and she was absolutely horrified.
This in itself made me feel better.
She said that a senior nurse (I can’t remember the exact title) will be calling me next week to go through all of the details

That's good to hear Fanny
I do think that being heard is one of the most important elements of the complaints procedure. When your feelings about the care (or lack of care) are validated in this way you are then able to move on and leave it behind you.
I hope your recovery is otherwise going well

Thanks for the update Fanny. Good to hear you felt reassured. You aren’t a malicious complainant - that will be clear to those investigating x

As your experience of the hospital and your operation was overall very good, I don’t think I would complain.Sometimes student nurses have to learn under the eye of another.
The only thing that I find strange is later when a nurse came and said what she did to you.Can it be possible that she was told a quite different story and that she was told that you had behaved badly? I think I would wish to find this out, but not complain about the initial problem of too much time to sort out the wires.

Prentice Too late.
I have already complained, and I have explained the situation to the Hospital Director’s PA, who was genuinely shocked and appalled by my experience.

My main issue was the filthy look, while I was lying naked and on a drip, and her saying, ‘What did you just say?!’ in a nasty and threatening tone.

I have definitely, 100 per cent done the correct thing.

By the way, it was the same nurse who came in and said that ‘she wouldn’t hold it against me’ and squeezed my knee.

I don’t understand what you mean about me ‘behaving badly’!

That's good and reassuring for you FannyC.

I mentioned the wire thing to illustrate the shambolic over all situation.
I understand about students.
I have trained TA’s myself; but I have never used the pupils as guinea pigs and insulted them when they were vulnerable.

I am pretty confident that the student in question will back me up, too

Prentice you're a bit late, the OP was posted on the 14 july and as Fanny says, has been dealt with now!

nadateturbe

That's good and reassuring for you FannyC.

Thank you nadateturbe!
I must admit that I was getting a bit cross slightly up thread!

Thanks lemsip

The same nurse, hmm.She either did think you had behaved wrongly in some way or she was covering for herself in case you did complain later.Either way I hope you can find out why and receive an apology from her.

Prentice thank you.
She definitely didn’t think that I’d behaved badly, because I didn’t do anything of the sort!
She was massively out of her depth, and in the wrong job.
I would not employ her in any capacity.
Quite simply, she is a very nasty piece of work.
That is why I have complained; to protect others - both staff and patients

I should imagine this nurse has already had some complaints about her. Unlikely to be a one off. So good thing you flagged this up.
Protects other people too.

Loopyloo a poster up thread said something very similar to you.
She said something along the lines of, that the hospital could be waiting for another piece of the puzzle.
It was that that made up my mind to complain

I have made formal complaints. It's the only way anything is on record.
The truth is, sometimes we are so vulnerable or so sick or so exhausted that the emotional energy is just too much.

I should have complained formally instead of "informally" years ago on the birth of my first child but was too emotionally drained by the whole episode to do it. I think about this a lot and the lack of complaint haunts me (nearly as much as the series of incidents) because the "bully" was never held to account. He was the senior consultant.

So, thank you Fanny and thank you to everyone who has complained formally about health services or practitioners. This is, we hope, how things can improve.

I hope you do get the call-back Fanny.

Have zero regrets FannyC. I'm sure you don't think of yourself as being "lucky" in this situation, but you're intelligent and savvy enough to know that the way that nurse treated you "just wasn't right". Other patients, more vulnerable than you, won't be able to raise the alarm or ask "Was this OK?" and so that nurse would have continued unabated. For all we know, there may well already have been complaints or concerns about them and I can reassure you that that data is kept and added to until a credible case for intervention is obtained.

Don't be built tripped into feeling bad about this; patient feedback is what leads to patient safety. For everyone.

Chewbacca wrote patient feedback is what leads to patient safety. For everyone.

One of my sons has worked on the academic research side of patient safety for over 15 years now. His team relies on patient feedback to be able to predict where future problems may lie, so that intervention can take place before a calamitous disaster occurs.

Thank you for your kind and wise words Chewbacca
As I think you have already guessed; I have been questioning myself, and it’s easy to downplay things after the event; but I do know that I am doing the right thing.
And I’m so glad that I spoke to the Director’s PA.
Talking about it kept it more ‘real’ in my head, if that makes sense.

Thank you too Sue, that’s very reassuring. What an interesting job your son has

Don’t doubt yourself, Fanny. You wouldn’t want it to happen to anyone else so you’ve taken the right steps to stop that.

Yes, ds’s is an interesting job. The lessons learnt have also spun out into other areas such as aviation, industry and even the financial world!

Hello
Just a quick update, or non-update, really.

I still haven’t had a follow up phone call, which I have been assured several times is imminent.
I’ve hardly given them any information about the incident at all.
I just said that I was treated badly.

I did however talk ‘off the record’ with the hospital manager’s PA about it; and she was very sympathetic (and appalled).

I can’t help but think that it may be a fait accomplis (apologies if I’ve made a mess of that!)
What I mean is, that as Loopylou and others have speculated - they’ve already had complaints, and this was the final straw.

In addition, I was fortunate that I had a witness in the other nurse; who I am absolutely sure would verify what happened.

The letter that I received from the hospital manager, the day after I issued my complaint, said that I would officially hear exactly what they have decided on the 12 August, which is this Friday; so we’ll see…

?Fanny

It seems strange to say there'd be a decision by that date, if they don't have all the information from you.
Still, it's not long now.

That’s exactly what I thought FarNorth, and thank you NotSpaghetti

I’ve just phoned the manager’s PA to see what was going on, and she just happened to be typing up my resolution letter!

Apparently she had fed back to the Matron what I had told her about the incident.
And she added that ‘it was all there in your patent records’. I’m unsure what she meant there.

So I’ll be receiving the letter tomorrow.
Should be interesting!

Hello Fanny, I've only just caught up with this well done for complaining. I feel quite upset they were so unprofessional when you were vulnerable

Hope you get that letter tomorrow, Fanny.