Share review of Bedminster Family Practice

Bedminster Family Practice 2019-11-10 Person 2 5 0

After my son Jacob Rayner Blair visited the surgery nurse (accompanied by his father Peter Blair) on 21 August, I responded “Unlikely” to recommending the practice to friends and family. I thought I should explain: I’ve always had exemplary treatment from receptionists, and doctors at Bedminster Family Practice. However, my son came home disappointed and confused from his appointment with the Nurse (I’m sorry, we didn’t get her name). Jake had broken bones in his hand while backpacking in Thailand, and had also received several stitches in his palm. He needed the wound checked, the stitches removed, and the breaks assessed, as well as a referral to the hospital outpatients. The Nurse was brusque, and Jake was told to take his bulky dressings off himself, though this was impossible one-handed. She sighed and did it for him, but said she was unable to give advice on infection (surely nurses can do that?). She took the stitches out, but had trouble with the last one. Although Jake could clearly see there was one there, she said maybe it wasn’t a stitch at all, but that if it was, it would “work its own way out”. Because Jake was worried about this, and about getting some advice before going travelling again, the Nurse suggested going to Hengrove for an x-ray. We all went to the clinic that evening, but were told there that they don’t do x-rays except in emergencies, and that we should have been referred to the fracture clinic at the BRI. They were able to remove the last stitch without dufficulty, though, and explained how to keep it clean, and the hand as still as possible to aid healing of the bones. There are some issues here that look like they require some extra training: Better customer care (especially for young, anxious patients); Giving advice on small wound infection; the care of stitches; Services that are available at Hengrove.