Stitches Removal

Aranyani

unforeseen said:

Aranyani said:

Definitely contact PALS at tte hospital

Why? 

A referral to district nurses for suture removal should have been made at the time of discharge.  When that happens it then works smoothly and all this stress and hassle would have been avoided, as well as the potential harm of leaving the stitches in too long.

A doctor or nurse or department needs reminding of their duty to do this, or teaching how to do it if they don't know.  PALS can sort that. 

keithdc

Aranyani said:

unforeseen said:

Aranyani said:

Definitely contact PALS at tte hospital

Why? 

A referral to district nurses for suture removal should have been made at the time of discharge.  When that happens it then works smoothly and all this stress and hassle would have been avoided, as well as the potential harm of leaving the stitches in too long.

A doctor or nurse or department needs reminding of their duty to do this, or teaching how to do it if they don't know.  PALS can sort that. 

It is quite clear that the patient was able to attend their own GP surgery. District nursing services are for individuals that cannot attend the surgery.

It would be an appalling waste of resources to routinely refer someone to District nursing services for suture removal. 

The system seems to have failed somewhere here- the key issue appears to be that GP receptionist did not understand the most appropriate care pathway.

(BTW- in many places, acute wound care such as suture removal is routinely done by healthcare assistants based in GP surgeries).

Aranyani

keithdc said:

Aranyani said:

unforeseen said:

Aranyani said:

Definitely contact PALS at tte hospital

Why? 

A referral to district nurses for suture removal should have been made at the time of discharge.  When that happens it then works smoothly and all this stress and hassle would have been avoided, as well as the potential harm of leaving the stitches in too long.

A doctor or nurse or department needs reminding of their duty to do this, or teaching how to do it if they don't know.  PALS can sort that. 

It is quite clear that the patient was able to attend their own GP surgery. District nursing services are for individuals that cannot attend the surgery.

Actually almost all district nursing services now run clinics for exactly this sort of thing.  Ambulatory patients who need services such as suture removal, wound dressings etc. but don't require a home visit.  

Patients are routinely referred to them for this exact reason, it would be a waste of resources and inappropriate to ask GP practices to pick up this work.  

mimi1234

Yes, I agree.  Had it been explained in a simpler fashion with direct instructions it would have saved everyone a lot of hassle.  Forget our time but the amount of people we had to speak to was a complete waste.  The weirdest thing was that the receptionist at the GP kept telling my brother to call back in the morning / in the afternoon / tomorrow.  If the nurses appointments were fully booked for a week or two, what was the point in asking us to repeatedly call back.  It was loads of unnecessary making contact.

Gers

mimi1234 said:

The weirdest thing was that the receptionist at the GP kept telling my brother to call back in the morning / in the afternoon / tomorrow.  If the nurses appointments were fully booked for a week or two, what was the point in asking us to repeatedly call back.  It was loads of unnecessary making contact.

Cancellations?

silvercar

I wouldn't have thought it wise to leave stitches for a week or two longer than necessary. There is a real danger that the wound could heal around the stitches making removal difficult, in some cases a procedure is then required to remove the stitches.
I once successfully removed my own stitches, though this really does fall into the "don't try this at home" category. 

Murphybear

When I had my knee replacement I was given an appointment for a home visit with one of the nurses, to remove the stitches.

Obviously different areas have different rules.