My husband was bitten badly by a dog on Monday 1st December. We visited the drop-in centre about 2 hours later. The nurse advised my husband that antibiotics and a tetanus jab were unnecessary and that dog bites were not as serious as cat bites or human bites. They cleaned out the wound, dressed it and sent him home.
24 hours later, the infection had spread up my husband's arm and the puncture wounds were oozing pus. We returned to the drop-in centre on Tuesday 2nd December, where the nurses advised that he required an IV drip and/or antibiotic injection, which they were unable to administer. We were advised that they had to send us to Trafford Hospital, rather than Wythenshawe Hospital which is closer to us. This is because the nurses said that the "money" from my husband should remain within Trafford CCG, rather than giving it to South Manchester CCG, which is where Wythenshawe hospital is. They also said that the wait time would be shorter at Trafford Hospital , rather than at Wythenshawe. They said that we had been referred to the Registar within the same CCG, so our wait time at Trafford would be extremely short. We drove to Trafford Hospital, where there was no evidence we had been referred and where our wait time was 1.5 hours. When we finally saw a doctor, they said that my husband should have been given antibiotics and a tetanus jab, and proceeded to give him this treatment.
Please could you explain: - Why my husband was not given the treatment which your own doctor had recommended in the first place? - Why we were told that we would be seen more quickly because we had been "referred" from the same CCG? - Why we were not sent to the A&E unit closest to our home?
We are very disappointed with my husband's treatment. Had he been treated properly in the first place, we would not have needed to return to Altrincham, or visit Trafford. His infection would also have been prevented, which is the most important aspect of our complaint.
"Poor treatment of dog bite led to infection"
About: Altrincham General Hospital Altrincham General Hospital WA14 1PE
Posted via nhs.uk
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