just a little rant!!

[ebony321]

Hiiiii,

had the WORST night ever on thursday,

Went out for a friend at work's leaving do thingy.. i seem to have the drinking and diabetes thing under control so i enjoy going out more without having to worry so much about my BG levels..

Well... everything was going fine until my bag was stolen from the pub i was in.. it was on a table behind me whilst i wasng a shot at pool... some [insert horrid word] ran off with my bag

As there was a few of us some of the guys ran off after him...

Then it dawned on me that my ONLY glucose meter was in that bag as my other had broken and my other spare is stashed at work as sometimes not being a good morning person i forget it..

So me and one of my friends went to the hospital as i'd been drinking there was no way i could go overnight not being able to test my BG...

Sooo, i went to the hospital and calmly explained my situation (by this time i'd pretty much sobered up)

Went to see the triage nurse after about an hour and half later and she tested my BG and it was 2.3 (by this time usually id be home and have eaten before i'd gone to bed)

So she said i'll get you some lucozade and a slice of toast, so i waited patiently.. about 15 mins later after my friend fetched someone she eventually brought it over...

After waiting another hour for a doctor a woman came and tested my BG again... again it had gone down to 2.9 so i asked for more lucozade and toast... five mins later the SAME nurse came back and told me the doctor was sending me home...


errrrr what?!

i said to her i can't go home Hypo with no treatment (i live in a village outside the main town and takes 15/20 mins in a taxi to get home)

She said that the doctor said it was fine... again i told her i couldnt go without something to test my BG and treating my hypo especially after drinking and asked to see this doctor.

So she went to get the doctor and ushered me into a cubicle and again i asked for something to treat my hypo... again nobody moved and the doctor just said 'why are you here i said you can go home'

By this time i was shaking bad and feeling weak so i got angry as i'd gone to the hospital for help after my bag was stolen so it was no fault of my own.. and as i felt my sugar get lower i got irritated and angry.. after being so patient so i started to shout and get very aggressive...

(Which i wasnt to pleased with myself after thinking about it when i'd calmed down)

after shouting and probably screaming and swearing the nurse huffed and tested my blood again... 1.6!!! only then did she decide to move and get me something...

They also tried to send me home with nothing to test my BG saying you'll be okay just eat before you go to bed!!! this made me really angry and upset as i've tried so so so hard to get my control sorted and this is the advice i got...

So after arguing this was not possible especially as drinking alcohol could lower me through the night she eventually magically pulled a machine out of nowhere and i eventually left after my BG was above eight so i would be okay with the taxi ride home.

Just needed to vent this to some people who can understand how bad that is!!! grrrr.

thanks for listening i feel better now :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Ebony.

That is absolutely awful. I truly understand your anger and frustration. You should, without delay make an official complaint to the hospital chief executive about this disgraceful treatment. You don't need names etc, it should all be recorded on the system. Complain so that this doesn't happen to anyone else.

 

[clearviews]

Oh Ebony321
Yours was a horror story and a RANT was well in order. As an unmedicated T2 I don't think that I can come close to knowing what you felt like that night when faced with the prospect of a life-threatening hypo. When you took the supposed correct action of seeking professional help, their lack of basic diabetic knowledge was simply unforgivable.
Silver Fox is right that you should make a written complaint. You certainly have a better understanding of the implications of hypos, what might cause one and how to prevent one than the HCPs you went to for prompt help.
Keep on taking good care of yourself, you are getting it right it seems.

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi ebony,

I am appalled at your experience. Write down everything you can remember, date, times, conversations etc. and the staff on duty will be traceable from that. Complain and make sure you keep a copy of everything. It makes you wonder what treatment would be available to someone who was having a life threatening hypo and was brought in by ambulance, if your levels did not concern the medics.
Hope you are feeling more composed now and hope the bag snatcher experiences Karma.

Catherine.

 

[Sid Bonkers]

That is unbelievable Ebony to send you home with no treatment and bg levels of 2.9 and dropping is tantamount to malpractice IMHO, you really must make a complaint as advised by all before me.

So glad that it worked out for you in the end.

 

[phoenix]

Well everyone has said it, the people in your local A&E need a bit of re-education. I'm glad you're fine now.
If your diabetes care is at the same hospital it might be worth having a word with your doctor/DSN as they would be in a position to offer professional advice to those in the A&E.
(I read the other day that the Bournemoth diabetes centre looked at the way the local amublance services dealt with hypos/hypers and gave advise on devising better procedures)

 

[anniep]

It is appalling, but I am not suprised. My mum was Insulin dependant, she used insulin from diagnosis in her mid 40's, until her death in her 80's and managed very well for most of that time.

In the last few months of her life her control slipped (we found out later because of undiagnosed lung cancer). Anyway she lived alone and I started getting called out to her regularly because of hypo's. One particular night I couldn't get her BG raise, I was with her for hours, feeding her coke, orange juice toast etc, until I got her high enough to leave her. the next morning she was down to 2. something again. She phoned the GP as soon as it opened at 8.30AM to ask advice, she told the receptionist she was having hypo's and we couldn't raise her BG at all and what should she do? The receptionist - not the doctor - phoned back at 6.30 PM, yes 10 hours later, to say drink milk next time not juice or coke, and that was it, sorry surgery over now can't speak to anyone else.

And BTW when she got to 75 the local hospital transfered her Diabetes care to her GP so this was the only number she knew for help, and the supposed expert.

Mum was the old style 'doctor knows best must follow the rules', it was only after that I got her to agree to bypass the doctor and just dial 999, within a short time we had had to call paramedics out several times to raise her levels, until eventually the paramedics decided she needed more investigation, and took her into hospital.

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[clairelc1980]

I had a really awful experience when i was first diagnosed.......here's the story.

I was diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis and a blood sugar reading of 26.5 at around 3 pm on a Wednesday afternoon. I was subsquently transfered, via ambulance to a larger hospital 25 miles away. Next I was dumped in the reception area to book myself in....I now laugh when i remember the receptionist asking me why i was there, and then whilst logging my details into the computer asking me whether i was diabetic.........and me replying 'i've just told you, that's why i'm here'!!

I then was transfered into a small room and spoke to a nurse, who then sent me back to the waiting area, at about 5pm I was transfered to a bed in a treatment area (the person in the bed next to me was old and complaining about chest pains).....I had my blood taken, etc etc who then left me. A nurse came to see me a couple of times to see if I was OK, explaining that the doctor wouldn't be too long. the old man who was next to me (cos he was old and complaining) got loads of attention, whilst i sat silent, waiting to be treated.

Eventually at about 8pm a doctor came and took blood from one of arteries (as they could get a more detailed blood reading from it) and then i waited and waited and waited. At 1am I was evebtually taken to their admissions ward and was given a chest xray. At 2.30am i was finally put on a insulin and glucose drip.

I don't think any of the medical staff that i saw knew how life threatening Diabetic ketoacidosis is. Because i wasn't calling out in pain, or had an open wound or was unconscious they didn't think it was an emergency. I was later told that i would have died by the weekend if I hadn't receieved any treatment, and that I should have been treated as an emergency and put onto a insulin/glucose mix with 30 mins (And that is one of their KPIs for that hospital)

I think that the level of diabetic knowledge and understanding is very poor and limited across huge areas of the NHS - esp in casulties and GPs!!!

A GP once said to me that he could prescribe me antibiotics as the capsules are coated in sugar!!!! - he must have thought i was born yesterday!!!!

 

[tigger]

Hi Ebony

That does sound a frustrating and difficult experience.

Coming from an older school of thought (ie it doesn't matter if you go a bit high every now and again the important thing is to avoid disabling hypos and my calculations are food and symptom based as much as meter) my attitude would simply have been to buy some orange juice and food eat it and hope for the best. If I'd been really concerned I would have tried to find a late night chemist to get another spare meter from (they tend to come with 10 strips in) to double check.

Hospitals are dreadful inefficient places without any knowledge of diabetes on the whole and I do anything I can to avoid them.

Another thing - try and get a few more spare meters. Lots of companies give them away for free but then you have difficulty with the strips. Boots often has sales on if you like the accu-chek ones. I got a nano for £7 when I forgot mine at home one morning.

I hope some of this advice is helpful.

 

[noblehead]

Ebony,

As others have stated, write a letter of complaint asap, and detail everything and include your friends name and contact details(if permitted) to verify your account.

Hope you have a successful outcome and hope lessons will be learnt at this hospital.

Nigel

 

[cheshirekitty]

I agree with Tigger. Maybe you should have gone to an all night chemist and purchased a meter. After all, when you first arrived in A&E you only went to obtain a meter.

A&E is really there for accidents etc. Having a meter stolen cannot be classed as an emergency.

 

[ebony321]

I agree with Tigger. Maybe you should have gone to an all night chemist and purchased a meter. After all, when you first arrived in A&E you only went to obtain a meter.

A&E is really there for accidents etc. Having a meter stolen cannot be classed as an emergency.

I live in a smallish town so i dont think we have one. i also had my bag stolen, and i dont think they'd accept buttons as payment

People also go into a&e because theyre steaming drunk. I care about my health. i went to the only place i though could help. theres nothing much more to it really.

 

[anniep]

If you had had a hypo through being unable to test, and maybe had to call the paramedics and be taken to hopsital, it would hav ebeen far worse for the health service.

In A&E they probablypartly reacted taht way because you had been drinking, they tend to make assumptions once you have had a drink.

 

[sugarless sue]

In my opinion, Ebony did exactly the right thing as her later hypo shows ! For a type 1 a hypo is an emergency especially when you do not have your own treatment with you.

The issue here is not what Ebony should have done but the substandard treatment she received at
A & E. Having worked at A & E there are many and varying degrees of emergency.

As for the suggestions about late night chemists....no money and small towns do not have the facilities that larger towns/cities have. Ebony would have known her local area etc, as I said, she did exactly the right thing and was let down.

 

[chrisy]

I know what you mean a lot of hospitals have a lot to answer to. I changed my hospital because of a simular experiance. :evil:

 

[sugar2]

hi Ebony,

Completely empathise with your plight...and may be we should all learn from it! Alas, i already know that most hospital staff do not seem to be able to cope with hypo!

personally, I agree, once they had tested you, and confirmed that you were hypo, why did your friend not go to the vending machine and buy you a coke? Agree completely, they should have looked after you, but very often, we have to take care of ourselves. It shouldn't be like this...but sadly it is. Having said all that, I too would have refused to leave until my blood sugar had risen to about 6 or so before eating something longer acting on the way home.

Hope you are feeling better now

 

[k9kitty]

Hi Ebony,
I do hope you have recovered from the bad treatment and the hypo you suffered. I felt absolutely appalled by your experience at the hospital. Alas, this seems to happen all too frequently. My own bad experiences relate to my visual impairment which can be difficult enough. The hypo must have left you feeling rotten.

Does your hospital have a PALS? They are sometimes a good place to start with a complaint, don't forget to keep a copy of any email or letter your send, so you can refer back. Also mention what happened to your GP s/he may offer support for your complaint. You friend is a witness to what has happened and could back you up if needed. Check if your area health authority has written guidelines for dealing with diabetic emergencies and whether the hospital has violated them and quote from their own written sources if they have done so.

Agree with Tigger, do buy a couple of spare meters, usually the strips last unopened for quite a while. I have a trueone that is dated 2014 as a backup. You never know when you might loose one or a meter may break for some reason. And the freestyle lite available at most chemists is usually cheap.