My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

AIBU?

Aibu to think a minor injuries unit at a hospital should be staffed with people can prescribe medication?

146 replies

Theincidental · 26/07/2014 19:32

I have a nasty insect bite with bad swelling and this morning I went to my local minor injuries unit 15 min drive away to check it wasn't infected (which I think it is) and to see what I may be able to take to ease the swelling. My whole upper arm is a balloon and blistering.

The place is only staffed with non prescribing nurses who offered me only off the counter strength piriton which renders me insensible.

There was no examination of the bite, and no other treatment available because the staff were not qualified to prescribe anything at all. I was effectively told there's nothing to be done and don't worry about it, despite giving a history of allergic reaction to bites.

My ooo gp is 45 min drive away and a & e is about 1 hour 20 mins.

Aibu to think that in an area so far away from emergency services (we have helicopters for dire emergencies) the hospital unit for cases just such as mine should have properly qualified staff to help people?

OP posts:
Report
gordyslovesheep · 26/07/2014 19:34

YABU it's minor injuries

GP, out of hours GP service, A+E are where the Dr's are

Report
Silvercatowner · 26/07/2014 19:37

The staff are properly qualified - it is a minor injuries unit. The staff will be qualified to spot more serious stuff and refer it on.

Report
BakeOLiteGirl · 26/07/2014 19:39

I don't think yabu. My out of hours experiences have mostly been shit and I live in a big city.

Report
alardi · 26/07/2014 19:40

Some minor units do have on-call GPs, but GP's are expensive. Fine to say yanbu as long as you don't mind paying more taxes to fund it versus all the other NHS priorities.

Report
macdoodle · 26/07/2014 19:42

Welcome to cost cutting in the. Nhs and you can thank the government, most doctors wont work high risk (extra very high medical protection rates) on the weekend for less than they earn in the week. This is what the government wanted and this is what they have.

Report
Theincidental · 26/07/2014 19:43

For those who say I am unreasonable where would you have gone then? Genuinely interested.

Other people there today were: a blocked ear, another insect bite, child with a scratched knee.

To alleviate my symptoms I need steroids, so surely that's something a hospital clinic should be able to prescribe?

OP posts:
Report
nocheeseinhouse · 26/07/2014 19:43

I don't know whether YABU.

We are lucky that unlike most of the world we don't have to walk for a day to access heathcare, etc etc.

Did the minor injuries staff say whether they thought it needed a GP to look at it? Are they concerned about spreading infection? If so, you'll need to drive 45 minutes. Whether you should have to drive 45mins depends on whether, as a society, we're willing to stump up the cost of providing more local care to everyone, and vote in a government that will do that, rather than the current one which does the opposite.

Report
Theincidental · 26/07/2014 19:44

Agree with last two posters. I am cross at the government for the crap provision, not the staff.

I truly fail to see the point of me clogging up a & e and 45 mins for a gp is big trek.

OP posts:
Report
nocheeseinhouse · 26/07/2014 19:44

I thought you said you think it's infected? Steroids won't help. OTC piriton, if you have a histamine response, sounds sensible.

If you don't want the advice of whoever you go to, why bother going anywhere?

Report
arethereanyleftatall · 26/07/2014 19:45

Yabu. I would rather our trained medical staff are where the emergencies come. Not for insect bites, for which you could buy some OTC medicine should that be required.

Report
Silvercatowner · 26/07/2014 19:45

I would've thought a minor injuries unit was not the place to get a prescription for steroids. I would also think that if that is what you needed they would advise you appropriately and tell you where to go to get your prescription.

Report
Theincidental · 26/07/2014 19:46

Ooo is privatised in my area as well. It's always in the local papers for the shambolic set up with long wait times and poor assistance.

OP posts:
Report
gordyslovesheep · 26/07/2014 19:47

you could have gone to the chemist and got some cream

I ring our out of hours service and make a GP APT AT minors (they have GP's for 4 hours a day) or drive to A+E

for a bite I would go to the chemist first off

Report
arethereanyleftatall · 26/07/2014 19:47

Where would I have gone? No where. Possibly the chemist if it was hurting.

Report
SpottyTeacakes · 26/07/2014 19:47

We had a patient come in with a bite that had blistered. It was a spider bite, one of those false widows. She had to have a tetanus booster and antibiotics.

Report
Frustratingsituation · 26/07/2014 19:49

You want steroids for an allegedly infected insect bite? For that alone YABU.

I bet it's a horsefly bite. They swell up quite badly and appear infected but they aren't. They were right to prescribe you an antihistamine.

Report
Theincidental · 26/07/2014 19:49

The nurse suggested that I get a pack of steroid tablets for use at home in case of bites in the future. She said that was the treatment I needed (in combination with piriton)

OP posts:
Report
macdoodle · 26/07/2014 19:49

The goverment though they could provide ooh care cheaper than GPs were doing themselves in 2003. They soon discovered that they couldn't and there wad a lit of unpaid goodwill going on. They are doing the same to daytime GP now.

Report
Theincidental · 26/07/2014 19:52

Frustrating situation - it is a horsefly bite. I am allergic to them. Last one I had led to cellulitis, treated with steroids and anti Bs.

OP posts:
Report
Silvercatowner · 26/07/2014 19:53

But that isn't a 'minor injury'.

Report
nocheeseinhouse · 26/07/2014 19:54

So, you're advised to go and get a prescription, and then cba to drive 45mins? But instead decide to moan on here rather than actually do what you were advised?

I would be surprised a nurse would recommend steroid for an 'infected' bite.

YABU. If you want a doctor's opinion, go and see a doctor. Don't spend your time on MN.

Report
Sassyb0703 · 26/07/2014 19:58

yadnbu to expect an nhs funded outfit 1 hr 20 mins away from a&e to be able to prescribe something other than over the counter meds is a complete and utter waste. we have a fantastic facility, high tech xray, cat scanner etc staffed by 3 non prescribing nurses who are authorized to absolutely nothing but treat a grazed knee (under phone supervision) , something they all could do without any supervision with their eyes shut ! but if you have an infection that needs iv anti biotics or a bone break you have to drive the extra 40 mins and join the queue... can't understand why they man the place, better to either make it an actiual local a& e or forget it. certainly not worth the salary of 3 nurses 24/7 who never have a queue and spend their time sending every one on to the 'proper' hospital (which btw always has a minimum 4 hr wait).. I feel for you Sad

Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

Thurlow · 26/07/2014 19:58

I sort of agree with you. It's difficult to know how and where to access prescriptions out of hours. There's plenty of things such as infections, tonsilitis etc that can crop up nastily over the weekend. They're clearly neither an accident nor an emergency, so what else do you do? A lot of places have rubbish 111 services too.

Where I used to live in south London had an NHS Walk In centre which had prescribing nurses who could do basics such as antibiotics to cover sudden infections, and I imagine they might have been able to do standard steroids too.

Overall I think it's a bit ridiculous for the healthcare system in general to assume that the only illnesses people might get outside of M-F 9-5 are going to be emergencies, which is kind of what it does. Nurses at MIU's who can do basic antibiotics etc would probably be a big improvement.

Report
FeministStar · 26/07/2014 20:00

I had a similar problem recently, I saw a nurse, she said forget piriton and try an antihistamine for hay fever etc, I got some tablets and the tick bite was not an issue any longer. I think it depends on both the staff and your expectations.

Report
Theincidental · 26/07/2014 20:03

Nocheese - it wasn't a case of cba. I waited there for over an hour to see the nurse with an increasingly bored toddler and took the piriton that was offered. She didn't seem to think I should get the steroids until 48 hours had passed because they had been issued with new guidance that said too much money was wasted on over prescribing for insect bites and she couldn't prescribe it anyway.

That may well be the case, so I'm doing as she suggested, but I think it's wrong that the nearest available prescribing care option for me is 45 mins away when there's a perfectly good hospital with a clinic on my doorstep.

I will probably end up at the gp' on Monday getting further treatment, as the piriton does not agree with me and is not working.

OP posts:
Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.