Grandma who needed plaster for cut finger told to ‘dial 999’
A grandmother who cut her finger while making lunch was left stunned after claiming she was told to call 999 because neither her local pharmacy nor her GP practice could help.
Pauline Shillito, 84, cut her finger while cutting a melon at her home in Lydd, Kent. Although the injury was minor, the wound continued to bleed because he was taking blood thinners.
Ms Shillito walked to the nearby Well Pharmacy, hoping someone could clean the cut and apply a band-aid, the Mirror reported.
“But the pharmacist said, ‘We have nothing to do with blood,’” he told the publication.
“Then I went to the GP but the receptionist said ‘We don’t have a nurse on duty today’ and told me to call 999.
“Absolutely disgusting. Can you imagine when there are people having heart attacks and the ambulance comes because their finger is cut off, all I needed was a band-aid.”
Pharmacist Tunde Odelade claimed the pharmacy failed to treat the injury because staff were not trained or insured to deal with bleeding wounds.
He said: “There was so much blood. It was literally dripping from his arm to the floor in a pharmacy full of people, it was very unhygienic.”
“I told him I couldn’t help him because I couldn’t handle blood. I offered to get his information and call an ambulance, but he refused.”
Ms Shillito said she also visited Orchard House GP Surgery, where she was told there was no nurse on duty and was advised to call 999.
Luckily, a neighbor noticed the pensioner walking towards the house in tears and came to her rescue.
The grandmother explained: “She saw me crying and helped me by wrapping a blood-soaked kitchen towel around my finger. She cleaned my finger and put a band-aid on it. I’m lucky to have good neighbors.”
A spokesperson for Invicta Health, which operates Orchard House Surgery, said it could not comment on individual cases due to patient confidentiality, but said the practice is committed to directing patients to the most appropriate care based on their clinical needs.
