Mistake by Nurse - advice please

Caleo

You must be awfully unusual , that plain water does NOT hurt and normal saline DOES hurt.

Just because the nurse used normal saline probably was not the cause of your pain. Plain water would have felt even worse.

Plain water has been absolutely fine. No pain, thus easier for me to manage, and started to heal.

There's a reason for that old saying "it's like rubbing salt into a wound"....

My very best wishes for tomorrow ferry23 👍

Jaxjacky

My very best wishes for tomorrow ferry23 👍

Thank you

Let us know how it goes.

Sounds like a plan! As long as your appointment with that Nurse doesn’t involve ANY sort of treatment. She’s done enough damage. You now need a proper assessment, referral, tests, and possibly specialist treatment in order for your leg to heal, and certainly no more consultations with someone in whom you have no confidence.

Good luck…..you need two working legs a.s.a.p. (Don’t listen to your Mum 😉)

Hello everyone.

Well, my plan didn't go exactly to plan, but I think I got somewhere.

I was in acute pain overnight and the compression wraps on my leg were crazy uncomfortable. I actually had to pull the wraps undone in order to get some clothes on to get to the surgery and then kind of wrapped them up again. I absolutely knew my leg was a real mess under all dressings, stocking and wraps, so when I got there, to be honest, I didn't care who saw me as long as they just took everything off my leg.

So, I did see said nurse - not much option really. When she asked me how it had been I burst into tears (again ).

She actually was kindness personified and without any prompting she apologised profusely for going against my wishes last week. I think she realised she had made a mistake and she was honest enough to own up to it to me. She said she quite understood if I wanted to take it further and I should be assured that it wouldn't affect my treatment.

As I said, she is usually a competent (and senior) nurse and I felt confident enough to discuss my situation with her. She went through all the options for pain relief and all the options for different kinds of dressings and bandaging. Her and the other nurse I usually see have discussed my treatment this week.

She has taken a swab and has put me back on antibiotics. This will be my 4th lot this year. I have no fever and am otherwise ok so she suggested that I might like to just hold on to the antibiotics until the swab results are in at which time a GP will be able to review which antibiotics will be the best - but in the meantime I do have something to take if I start feeling ill.

She agreed there now needs to be more robust treatment. She has taken photos and at lunchtime she is going to discuss it all with my GP. She suspects it will be a referral to a Vascular Unit. She also suggested I my like to try a small dose of morphine before a dressing change, has given me information and left me to make a decision on that. Either her or my GP will call me this afternoon.

We've ditched the compression wraps for the time being and met a compromise as to how the leg is dressed in the short term. (It is more bearable at the moment).

She spent about 35 minutes with me and I felt she was thorough and also well aware she'd done the wrong thing last week and had genuinely reflected on it all. She was very familiar with my notes so she must have had a good read. I knew she's spent a long time when I exited the room and saw all the people waiting outside!

For now, I feel this is a good outcome. I shall give it a week or so and see how things progress.

Thank you everyone who responded - you really helped to focus my mind which was a bit bonkers yesterday and made me feel a little less alone.

ferry23 You sound a bit more positive. I hope your leg heals soon. They're notoriously difficult, but it sounds as though you're being treated well now. just for you!

Sending much love and hugs ferry, I've read through the whole post, you have suffered so much, hopefully this will be the turning point for you x

That all sounds very positive, good, I hope these steps help.

You are going through such a tough time!

I’m so glad the nurse was thorough and particularly pleased that she owned up to making a mistake.

That appears to be the reason why she certainly seemed more amenable and responsive today. The suggestion about a small amount of morphine before the dressing is changed and a referral to a vascular unit both sound good.

You’ll know more after the phone call this afternoon.

I hope you have a more comfortable night and manage to sleep tonight.
Do keep us informed as to your progress.

Dreadfullly sorry Ferry. If I lived near you , I would help.

Can you enlist some support? Very hard to deal with all this.

Back again! Are you in a positon to buy in care on a temporary basis?

Just to get you through this rough patch.

Are you able to wash and dress your own wound? Sounds like you might be better off using your own common sense and instinct about this. I often find that works better for me too. Take a vitamin c supplement too, as it is said to help wound healing

I ama nurse and l would report her. Thr nurse should have read your notes throughly before starting any treatment. You specifically told her only tap water but she disregarded what you said. This isn't good enough, how many other people is she bull dozing her way through, not doing her job properly. I get very annoyed when l hear things like this, the nurse needs more training....

I agree. People are also worried about complaining about unfair treatment from doctors too or ask to see another one for a second opinion. The practice doesn’t hold that against patients, especially as doctors specialise in different medical conditions and another doctor might be more helpful.

Everyone has given good advice. I just wanted to say I'm so sorry you are going through this.

buffyfly9

Ask your GP to refer you to the nearest hospital wound clinic. Ask for hospital transport, in your circumstances you should be entitled to this. Sometimes these wound treatments are beyond the competence of a nurse in a GP surgery and GP's are often not up to speed in these matters either. I speak as an ex Practice Manager; whilst you are at it I would also write to the Senior partner of the practice expressing your distress. You need to make waves in order to be treated properly. I really feel for you.

That sounds like good advice to me as the best way to handle this.

Sorry to hear you've had such a problem and...yep...it is harder to cope for those of us on our own.

At the very very least I would think it a bad idea to see the same nurse again. I know it's been my own experience before that once a medic makes a mistake it is not a good idea to see that same one again - and instead swop to someone else.

In the course of going to see a hospital wound clinic instead = you'll automatically not get that woman again anyway.

I've read on further now - and can see you did land up seeing the same nurse again in the event. I still don't think it's a good idea to go anywhere near her again - she may have only done her job a bit better this time in order to put you off putting in a complaint against her. I've certainly never yet met a medic of any description (conventional or alternative) that ever really thinks that they personally could have made a mistake.

Sounds really awful! Is there anywhere that specifically offers a wound service? Worth asking the GP. I'd have thought sterile saline is ok as it's similar to your body's natural salinity but it clearly isn't working for you and that's in your notes! I'd probably be too upset to want to see that nurse again as well, however, she or he has probably learnt their lesson and should be able to use sterile water - presumably the same as boiled/sterilized tap water. I'd personally be asking to be referred to whatever specialist services there is in your area, not a generic practice nurse, and see if you can get home visits. Unfortunately district nursing seems to have been cut right back these days so hopefully there's something still available.

As a nurse I would add I have never cleaned a would with tap water, it would contradict every sterile process we are duty bound to follow. If you really can’t tolerate saline then there is sterile water that can be used, the risk of infection multiplies as soon as you introduce non sterile items. I have to say I’ve never we met anybody that has had a reaction to normal saline.
Saline.

Report the incident in as much detail to the Practice Manager of your GP surgery.
If you get no joy from this contact PALS.
In the meantime request referral to a Tissue Viability specialist...this will probably be a nurse.
Good luck, and I hope you get some relief, sounds like your pain needs managing aswell.

Cornishgreenhouse

As a nurse I would add I have never cleaned a would with tap water, it would contradict every sterile process we are duty bound to follow. If you really can’t tolerate saline then there is sterile water that can be used, the risk of infection multiplies as soon as you introduce non sterile items. I have to say I’ve never we met anybody that has had a reaction to normal saline.
Saline.

I'm not a nurse but I would have thought that was routine.
Even for a simple cut being dealt with at home, then I'd use cool, boiled water.

I woukd say you are past nurse oractitioners if any level treating you until a GP has had a look at the wound. May need medication in addition to the constant dressings. All else failing would try and get to A & E.

personally i would ask for a different health practitioner. You don't need to give a reason but if asked then I would say - "you speak to the nurse but I would be happier if I had somebody else "
I would not be happy with a nurse who could not be bothered to read the notes first or at least ask you why you just wanted tap water.

You poor thing. It is hell when you live alone and your health is poor. People pack you off home to manage with no idea of how difficult it can be when you do not have anyone there to help.

I do think you need an appointment with the senior GP, both to get the wound thoroughly reviewed and to discuss your concerns about the nurse.

You do have a choice as to what others are permitted to do to your body and, whatever the nurse's opinion on your choice, she should have respected this.

I hope thus wound will heal soon.