abuse from other parents

[Adrienne]

"The mother who objected was out of order in causing embarassment to Graham, but was right in teaching their own child to regard all used needles with suspicion" (post #52) - I think this shows that I did acknowledge she was out of order in her words / manner - but health professionals, those who handle waste materials, those who clear vegetation in parks and rough ground etc are right to be aware of risks from needlestick injuries - they are offered Hepatitis B vaccine for a reason, but there is no vaccine against Hepatitis C or HIV.

Hiya Copepod

I think there is a time and a place to teach your children about 'dirty' needles and that was so definitely not the time nor place, infront of a young child who clearly had diabetes and who had to have an injection clearly not from a dirty needle. This was the absolutely epitomy of behaviour by a professional in the medical world. This health professional was neither clearly vegetation in a park or rough ground but sitting at a children's birthday party. Big difference.

I'm not a violent person but I imagine the torrent of words that would have come from my mouth if I had been Graham's mum could well be likened with a violent attach !!!!!!!!!! Actually that is wrong, I would have showed her up with my superior knowledge to hers in a very eloquent fashion ha ha ha.......... she would have been very red faced I'm sure.

 

[Copepod]

I agree that some health professionals have very odd reactions to some things - I've had contact with several who faint at the sight of a needle that is going into themselves, whether for intramuscualr immunisation or to have blood taken from them. I have repeatedly said that the woman who commented at the party was out of order and caused uneccessary distress and embarassment, but I still say that it is appropriate to teach children (in a more sensitive way) not to go anywhere near anyone with a needle in their hand - not least because if they accidently joult the person having the injection, they may cause unecessary pain to that person, as well as risking coming into contact with the needle before it is safely stowed somewhere.
I have worked with people who have suffered accidental needlestick injury and faced at least 6 months of blood taking and checking, until they are sure they haven't picked up a blood borne infection such as Hepatitis B or C or HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. I would choose to have neither diabetes or HIV, but if I only have to have 1, then I'm glad it's diabetes. I don't have HIV, but do have friends who have, so have some understanding of the restrictions on their lives.
It is perfectly appropriate for anyone present at the party incident to report the events to Nursing and Midwifery Council, although I'm not sure how much they can do unless the nurse is qualified and her name is known. I wasn't there, so my comments are only speculation, but sometimes it's helpful to know how an "adversary" might be thinking and how it might have influenced their actions.

 

[tracey w]

Actually, any needle that has been inside anyone else should be regarded with suspicion - no-one knows the precise blood borne virus status of another person, which is why it's best for the person injected to dispose of their own needle (in the real open world) or for the person who gave the injection to dispose of sharps waste into a sharps bin as soon and close as possible.
The mother who objected was out of order in causing embarassment to Graham, but was right in teaching their own child to regard all used needles with suspicion - eg if they find a syringe and needle in bushes in a park, it is far more likely have been discarded by an intravenous drug abuser (more likely than general population to have Hep B / Hep C / HIV than general population) than it was used by someone who injected insulin, because such a person would have disposed of their needle safely, where it couldn't affect anyone else. They should have drawn the distinction between illegal and unsafe needle use and safe and essential insulin use.

yes, agreed, and i dont think anyone here is disputing that children need to be taught about safe practices if "they find a needle in a park or something", however this lady was completely out of order in the way she handled the situation, it was not only embarassing for Graham an his mum in front of others, but outright ignorant, nurse or not! There is a time and a way to teach children and this certainly was not it.

 

[grahams mum]

hi is daniela i am having a meeting with the head teacher tomorrow i will let you know what happened bye

 

[Steff]

good luck daniela x

 

[Twitchy]

Hi Daniella,

All the best for tomorrow, I hope the meeting goes well & the headteacher has some good ideas for making something positive out of all this! 🙂

All the best,

Twitchy 🙂

ps - Copepod - good point re teaching kids not to go near someone with a needle in hand so they don't jolt them - my little lad, hubby & cat at least have been well & truely trained! 😉

 

[grahams mum]

thanks everybody i read the code of practice of nurses and midwife and guideline for sharps dsposal for few ideas very interesting the part about dignity confidentiality and uphold the profession reputation !!!!!

 

[Copepod]

Training cats

Twitchy - I'd love to know how you trained your cat - mine jumps on or off my shoulders at the most unexpected moments! Humans I can explain to, but she doesn't understand "get off" until I've moved her off my shoulders at least 3 times. Since she can jump from floor to shoulder (about 5ft), just moving away from high points where she's sitting doesn't work.
But, that's derailing from dealing with inappropriate comments from adult humans...

 

[grahams mum]

meeting

hi guys i try to make it short it was a 45 minutes meeting " explained what happened with my words then i said that beeing a nurse she should have followed the code of practice from NMC RIGHTS TO DIGNITY and she did not she embarassed and humiliated graham and me in public right to confidentiality she did not ,she approach all the parents in the class [including my friend] present and not present at the party and she has not any rights to speak about me and graham and beeing a nurse should behaved honestly and professionaly at all time at work and outside in the community she broke all the code of practice and i dont have to justify what i do with my son because i do try to do the best and i donot have to follow any code of practice i have only duty of care to my son and the people around usif she is not happy she can send a letter at the head of the pediatric diabetes team and ask for the guidelines to use in the community also knownedas the real world the answer will be common sense the i add that if she carry on harrasing me or she try to approach me i will formally complain to the NMC because i dont socialise with ignorant people and i am not in competition with the other parents and their birthday party i feel much better now thanks again for the support xxdaniela

 

[tracey w]

Daniela, good for you, you stood your ground! What did they say to all that?

 

[grahams mum]

they i did my homework really well my manager at work really help me on the legal side of it she is a reg nurse health visitor matron ecc ecc and the mum of the other diabetic girl in graham school she is a nurse as well hlp me on the parent school issue

 

[grahams mum]

the mum she did not take the boy to school this morning the father did they ask me if it was something to do with me 😱

 

[Adrienne]

Well done Daniela. Good for you. Are the school going to be doing anything about this?

What is happening with the other parents in the playground, is everything ok?

 

[AlisonM]

That's really well done Daniela. I think you did a great job. Keep us posted if there are any more developments won't you?

 

[katie]

good on you Daniela 🙂

 

[am64]

well done daneila, this must be very stressful for you aswell, you have enough to deal with without ingorant bullies....i remember what waiting in the playground can be like with the mums etc....but its half term next week and so hopefully the bullying will blow over and the school will deal with it appropriately ! Good luckX

 

[grahams mum]

thanks everybody i am very please with myself

 

[Adrienne]

thanks everybody i am very please with myself

I've just spoken to Daniela and the girl done good !! She kept her calm even though very angry, she remembered everything we told her and her manager told and all the research she has done. The other woman is so in the wrong and seems to have stopped showing her face at school and sending husband in. We will wait and see...........

 

[am64]

I've just spoken to Daniela and the girl done good !! She kept her calm even though very angry, she remembered everything we told her and her manager told and all the research she has done. The other woman is so in the wrong and seems to have stopped showing her face at school and sending husband in. We will wait and see...........

well done daneila for keeping your dignity what a good mum X 🙂

 

[Twitchy]

You go Girl!!! Well done!! It is so horrible & stressful when you feel under attack like that, especially when it's targeted, or feels like it's targeted at your kid, but you did exactly the right thing - beat down that woman's ignorance & bigotry with the cold hard facts! Well done! (Hopefully she's now feeling horribly embarrassed - the biter bit! On a positive note, maybe she'll learn something from all this & be a better nurse for it.)

Well done! Fingers crossed for calm now in the run-up to Christmas - you deserve a rest! 🙂

Copepod - actually, I was being a bit optimistic - I have however perfected a scary look that normally (!) either deters moggy, or prompts the OH into taking pre-emptive action to distract him! Guess I just have a really scary face when I concentrate! 😱