hcsw4912

So, I am a male Healthcate Support Worker for the NHS in Scotland. Today, we had a patient that had come in with an overdose. I noticed that her skin hadn't been checked for pressure sores, and I asked the staff nurse about what should be done. She said to attempt to check her skin. I woke the patient up (which took a few moments) and asked her if it was OK to check her skin. She nodded and then turned onto her side when asked. She was wearing jeans, and I told her I would have to undo her jeans to check her skin. As I attempted this, she suddenly turned around and demanded to know what I was doing. I explained that I had to check for pressure sores on her backside, to which she said "youre not doing that because I don't have any." I accepted that, and walked away. About 5 minutes later, I came back and apologised to her, explaining that it was standard protocol for all patients. She said she understood that, but that I should have told hwr what was happening first. I said that I had asked her, but I apologised again. A few hours later, the staff nurse spoke to me privately. She said that the patient had told her that I told her I was checking her skin, but that I didn't wait for consent. I explained that she did consent, but that I could accept that as she had just woken up, she may not have been fully aware of what she was consenting to, and that I accepted responsibility if that was the case. The nurse said that from her perspective, she did not think this would go any further at the present moment, but mentioned the fact that patients can choose to report things at a later date. I offered to write a statement, but she said it wasn't necessary and that she wasn't going to note the incident. I don't work on the ward full time (I am an agency worker), so I a aware that there's probably not much I can do at the moment as I guess the matter's closed, but the situation has shaken me up a bit. I'm just posting the story here for any advice anyone may have.