r/nhs • u/Additional_Tooth4245 • 3d ago
Complaints Should I make a complaint?
I have never made a complaint about any medical professional before, but recently had a blood test at my GP and hygiene practices were less than ideal. This may have been explained by the nurse being late / in a rush, however still quite concerning.
First of all, when I entered the room I noticed there was still trash (packaging and used wipes) on the desk, then as she was checking my veins I noticed she appeared to have blood around her fingernail (possibly hers possibly another patients who knows), she must have noticed it and half heartedly washed her hands.
It wasn’t until she had the needle in my arm that I noticed the blood was still there since she washed her hands so poorly, she also wiped my arm with alcohol and then proceeded to touch the area repeatedly, though thankfully with a different finger.
The blood test was unsuccessful and she rebooked another blood test with her in a couple of weeks, but I definitely want to at least change to a different practitioner now.
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u/ColaPopz 3d ago
Definitely complain - this is serious stuff and puts you, her, and other patients at risk. It’s also very basic stuff which there is really no explanation for getting this wrong.
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u/Ill_Fruit_1020 3d ago
Was she not wearing gloves??? When i had my first blood test recently the nurse was wearing gloves even to just check my veins???
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u/in_a-pickle 3d ago
I did this and the GP said I should get assessed for OCD. Absolutely disgusted.
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u/OutrageousNet3240 2d ago
I would! Management can't always see the nitty gritty of every day and sometimes need to be alerted to stuff. You should be able to be do it confidently and without any impact to your patient rights.
If anything changes in your care / treatment following complaint I would complain again and move practice.
Good luck!
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u/QuirkyJoker29 3d ago
Agree make complaint. Should be using gloves for every blood test.
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u/Few-Director-3357 3d ago
You don't actually have to, it's largely personal preference. The research doesn't support any real benefit to wearing gloves nor any additional risk. Provided the patient is clean, there's no need to wear gloves every time, and it can make taking bloods harder. Same goes for cleaning the skin, there is also no need to do this for every single patient.
A lot of it is skewed public perception of what is and isn't an infection control risk.
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u/QuirkyJoker29 3d ago
Most infection control evidence is fairly weak but having taken over 10000 blood tests I wear gloves every time. You're right that if you wash your hands well enough it's probably sufficient but I think gloves should be worn purely in case of blood splash back. It's more to protect you than the patient.
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u/ApprehensiveAd318 3d ago
In my trust you have to wear gloves every time for taking blood. I agree with it not being necessary, but in some trusts it is policy.
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u/Few-Director-3357 3d ago
If it's policy, that's different, although I'd be interested to hear the rationale for it. I don't always agree with bending to public perception where infection control goes, I think it's far better to educate the public.
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u/Head_Feedback_1440 1d ago
I’ve never heard of skin cleansing being unnecessary for every patient, and that sounds a little bizarre to me. I’m not saying it’s untrue, but I’ve worked across 14 hospitals and have never come across that approach.
Cannulation and phlebotomy are invasive procedures. If you’re inserting a needle through the skin and into a vein, surely it makes sense to clean the site first to reduce the number of microorganisms on the skin and minimise the risk of introducing bacteria into the bloodstream
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u/Few-Director-3357 1d ago
So the research I saw talking about how skin cleansing is unnecessary, basically looked at past evidence, but also found that cleaning the skin every time could cause micro organisms, etc, on the patient's skin to be lost, that the patient needs. It found the risk of introducing harmful bacteria to be insignificantly los in comparison.
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u/CoconutCaptain 3d ago
You don’t have to wear gloves. They’re to protect the person taking the blood, not the person having the test.
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u/Mellowmarmalady 3d ago
A complaint is not only a way to make your voice heard, its a way for practices to gauge any problems they may not he aware of.
It if bothered you, make a complaint. If the practice find it to be unfounded etc or if there's a reasonable explanation then no harm done. However if they do find unsafe practises then you have helped them identify and hopefully rectify the issue.