I am not normally one to complain but I had a pretty negative experience at this location. I went in for routine blood testing on Saturday, December 9th, and I chose this location because it was open on Saturdays which was convenient for my schedule.
At first, everything seemed great. I got there around 9am and there was hardly anyone in the waiting room so I was seen quickly. The lady who helped me appeared to be the only person working there. She was very friendly and made me feel welcome.
Where things went wrong was during the actual blood draw. In the past, phlebotomists have had trouble finding my veins. I am used to this, so I am patient and understanding if they need to switch arms or poke me more than once. The phlebotomist started with my right arm and didn't spend that long looking for a vein. She didn't have me make a fist or feel my arm that much for the veins which I thought was a little weird because every place I have had my blood drawn in the past has done this, but I trusted that she knew what she was doing. She didn't find the vein on the first prick, but instead of removing the needle and trying again, she kept the needle in and move it from left to right in my arm while trying to find a vein! She changed the angle of the needle what looked like 45º inside my arm! This didn't hurt much, but it definitely didn't seem right to me. Again, I didn't question it. After no success, she got a smaller needle and tried my left arm. Again, she didn't spend much time looking for the vein before inserting the needle. She wasn't successful at first either and also moved the needle from left to right. Eventually, she struck a vein though because the blood started flowing, but this hurt a lot (relative to any other blood test at least) and continued to hurt for the entire time the blood was collected.
I didn't feel great on my way home. I didn't feel pain, but both of my arms felt tingly and numb all the way up and down the arm. I figured with time I would start to feel normal, so I went on with my day. The tingly numbness hasn't really gone away and my arms just feel weird still. It is not stopping me from normal activities, but it has been a constant sensation since the blood draw (over 24 hours at this point). After searching online, I learned that a needle should NEVER be moved laterally to find a vein because there are many nerves in the area that can be damaged by doing so.
Soureces: (https://www.arizonacollege.edu/blog/needle-positioning-the-key-to-a-successful-blood-draw/, https://www.phlebotomy.com/phlebotomyblog/eight-questions-every-phlebotomist-must-answer-correctly-1.htm).
I am upset that I went to a medical lab expecting to receive care from experienced staff, but instead I am dealing with the repercussions of a poorly trained Phlebotomist. WestPac should screen their employees better to ensure this doesn't happen to anyone else. I hope I don't have any lasting damage, but only time will tell... read more