Examination by doctor with equipment
9. We spoke to Ms U and she explained there was space available to put equipment. She says when she spotted Mr E looking uncomfortable, she asked the doctor if there was a better place for the equipment. The doctor moved the equipment to Mr E’s upper body which she still felt was strange as there was room and space behind the doctor.
10. The Trust accepted this and apologised that the doctor’s actions made Mr E feel uncomfortable. It says a senior doctor has discussed the incident with the doctor who treated him. They have spoken about the effect this had on Mr E and the importance of using a trolley or side table to place equipment in the future.
11. We explained to Ms U what we can achieve when we look at complaints. We said we look at what the Trust has done to try to put things right and decide if this is enough. When things have gone wrong, we would expect an organisation to accept what happened and apologise. The Trust has already done this and we think this is enough to put this right. We are pleased Ms U appreciated knowing this has been looked at independently and what the Trust has done is correct and fair.
Doctor asking for help to glue nose
12. Mr E feels this was unprofessional and made Ms U feel uncomfortable as there were other doctors and nurses around.
13. Ms U explained the doctor who was performing the procedure looked uncomfortable and this is when they asked her to help. She refused as she had just come from the assault, her hands were dirty and she was not trained to help. Ms U said the doctor carried on but he did not look like he knew what he was doing.
14. The Trust’s complaint response says the senior doctor who reviewed the complaint discussed this with the doctor in question. The senior doctor reminded the doctor to use support from another member of staff if needed when carrying out procedures. The Trust also confirmed the doctor has agreed to write a reflective document about what happened. The Trust says the doctor's educational supervisor will support them on their ongoing practice in the future.
15. We appreciate Mr E and Ms U were in an upsetting and stressful situation. From what we have seen, the Trust has taken appropriate action to help resolve this part of the complaint. The steps it has taken show it wants to stop this happening again.
16. We are pleased Ms U agreed with our decision after we explained it to her.
Inappropriate language
17. Mr E complains the doctor who was going to give the tetanus jab explained the injection in an unprofessional way and made him and Ms E feel uncomfortable. Ms U says it was because the doctor did not use medical terms in the explanation. She says they were tense because of the assault and they thought maybe the doctor was trying to lighten the mood, but it was not an appropriate time.
18. The Trust confirmed a tetanus jab would be prescribed by a doctor and given by a nurse. The Trust says it spoke to the nurse involved and they apologised for adding any distress by their choice of words.
19. In its complaint response the Trust apologised for any distress or anxiety and discussed the impact this had on Mr E and Ms U with the staff involved. The doctor was asked and agreed to write a reflective statement about this incident and their educational supervisor would be involved in this and supporting their ongoing practice. The Trust asked staff to think about how they communicate in future.
20. We explained to Mr E and Ms U that we are not saying the situation was not distressing. It would be hard for us to be able to say Mr E developed PTSD because of what happened at the Trust, or that the events at the Trust made his PTSD any worse than it would have been.
21. While what happened at the Trust was upsetting for them, we think the Trust has already taken appropriate action to put things right and we do not think any further action is needed.