I scalded my hand on some boiling kettle water. I took some paracetamol and ran under cold water, however, every time I removed my hand it felt as though it was on fire in spite of the painkillers. Referencing the NHS website, it said call for further advice for burns to a hand so I did. After speaking with the call handler I was advised to attend Hairmyres A&E right away.
I want to be very clear - I explicitly stated multiple times to the call handler that I had no blistering and only minimal swelling/redness but that it was quite sore and I just wanted some guidance.
So we dragged our toddler out of bed at 11 p.m. to attend. The wait time wasn’t bad at all, around an hour. The nurse who saw me was just beyond rude. They said I shouldn’t be in A&E, and that they wouldn’t even consider it a minor injury (which medically may be true, but when someone is crying in pain as you examine them it’s probably not the right way to approach it). I asked them what I had done wrong, they said NHS24 had sent me here because they must have thought I had a big blistered hand. I said that would be surprising given I’d been very clear and honest in my assessment to them. It was very clear they believed I had exaggerated my injury.
So after five minutes I was told to go home and take painkillers. Why this couldn’t have been done over the phone is just crazy. I followed guidance only to be made to feel like I was wasting everyone’s time. It’s upsetting to be made to feel like a liar when in pain. The NHS is under so much pressure and I fully understand that, but please don’t berate patients for following advice given by your 24 hour service.
"A&E Hairmyres"
About: NHS 24 / NHS 24 (111 service) NHS 24 NHS 24 (111 service) University Hospital Hairmyres / Emergency Department University Hospital Hairmyres Emergency Department G75 8RG
Posted by bravohr34 (as ),
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