A distracted nurse has been slammed on social media after he was photographed watching a football match while taking blood from a young seizure patient.
The photo has now prompted some strong negative reactions after being shared online.
The nurse reportedly left the patient with a large bruise as the man allegedly checked out the game while the needle was in her hand, DailyMail reports.
The 19-year-old patient, Libby Bates, was taken by ambulance from her home to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich after she suffered a non-epileptic seizure on February 8.
Her mother, Nicola Bates, said she had warned the triage technician an ultrasound machine could be needed as NHS workers had often struggled to find a vein to test Libby’s blood.
According to Times Now, Nicola went on to claim that the nurse completely ‘ignored’ her instructions and tried to take her daughter’s blood while watching a football match on a mobile phone that was placed horizontally against a computer on his desk.
A picture taken of the incident appeared to show the man turning away from Libby to look at the phone, while trying to administer the jab at around 10.30pm in the evening.
Reports have claimed that the nurse entered the room in the hospital while watching the with the volume turned on. He even checked out a goal as the needle was in the patient’s hand.
It is believed he was watching the cup match between Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain.
Nicola said the multiple attempts to find a vein on Libby’s left hand left her covered in bruises.
‘He was looking at the phone, watching a goal, when he had the needle in my daughter’s hand. He didn’t even notice me taking photos.
‘On the way out, I said, “enjoy your football”, and he laughed. Her hand was covered in bruises,’ the mother told South West News Service.
The unprofessional conduct of the nurse prompted an apology for Libby and Nicole from Lewisham and Greenwich National Health System Trust that runs the hospital.
However, it was reported that no disciplinary action was taken against the nurse.
‘I think he should have been disciplined. He was watching the football when we came in, with the sound on. He didn’t talk to my daughter the whole time we were in there,’ Nicola shared.
‘He hurt my daughter while trying to take her blood. There was no care and I told another nurse at the time he was watching football but I was ignored.
‘My daughter now has no trust in hospitals, as she has been going regularly for the past two years due to non-epileptic seizures,’ she added.
The trust said in a statement the nurse was on his break when he started treating Libby.
‘With hindsight, he recognizes his error and apologizes for being distracted by his phone, which should have been switched off and put aside while tending to a patient.
‘He has assured the investigator that this will never happen again,’ a spokesperson for the trust said in a statement.
