"Poor care during triage"

I attended A&E today and when I was triaged was horrified to have my bloods obtained by a HCSW via a pink cannula with little to no warning of what was happening or why. It was just shoved in my arm, bloods taken, then immediately taken back out. I have no idea why a pink cannula was used however I know that this was not warranted and caused significant unnecessary pain and lasting trauma to the area. The fact that this was immediately removed suggests IV access was never even required.

This HCSW and the nurse triaging me were nothing short of rude, unwelcoming and made multiple hints to suggest I was a complete time waster. Such as when my obs were normal reading them out in a tone like -oh look yep, oxygen 100%.

When I explained that I was told to go there by NHS 24 and if they thought I didn’t need to be seen I would happily not wait 7 hours, they replied that - I can’t suggest you do this, because if you go away and something bad happens to you, it’s my fault. The tone and way in which this was said was so unprofessional and again left me feeling completely unwelcome. 

The shift for these members of staff was nothing short of chaotic, A&E was totally full. However, this is never an excuse to treat patients this way. 

Following this I was then seen by other members of staff including a lovely nurse and ANP in Ambulatory Care who were exceptional and really helpful, they are a lovely group over there.

I sincerely hope the unnecessary use of cannulas to obtain bloods without consent is addressed and this practice is no longer used as early as possible as this is not aligned with what is considered best practice. 

Current NHS Scotland guidance and national patient safety standards recommend that peripheral intravenous cannulas are inserted only when clinically indicated, and left in place only if ongoing IV access is required (NHS Scotland SPSP Peripheral Venous Cannula Care Bundle). Inserting a large-bore cannula solely to obtain blood, then removing it immediately, is more invasive, more painful, and carries higher risks (e.g. phlebitis, catheter-related bloodstream infection).”