"Appallingly rude staff"

Brought my 15 yr old daughter to a pre-arranged blood test appointment. The receptionist was cold and unwelcoming. I was surprised as I smiled and said good morning. I have been here several times before and had always found the the staff to be welcoming and friendly. She told us to proceed to the nurses room which we found immediately. The nurse told us that my daughter was not old enough to have her blood test at this clinic because the rules had changed. .She check her date of birth and told us again that she has to be over 15. If not she should have gone to Poole and she asked who told us to go to the Moordown Clinic because it was wrong. My daughter was very nervous and tearful as she has a needle phobia, and the nurse was cold abrupt and insensitive. She had no empthathy whatsoever and I found her whole attitude quite shocking. She did not even say hello when we came in. The clinic was quiet, it was mid-morning and there were no other patients around so it wasn’t busy. We found the whole experience quite rude and we were told go to Poole to the blood test done. They were disinterested and offhand despite our being polite and friendly. I have never experienced such rudeness from any NHS staff, and I have the utmost respect for them, so this whole awful experience is quite a shock. I’m not sure why the nurse is even in a profession where she needs to use empathy and understanding!

I went directly to my GP surgery at St Albans Medical Centre who were confused as they say that the age limit is 14 yrs to go to Poole paediatrics for bloods. They could not understand why the nurse at Moordown Clinic refused to do it.

I am not accustomed to making complaints but feel that this awful experience should be noted. It was totally unprofessional.