Nurse caught watching soccer on phone while taking blood from patient

A nurse was photographed watching a soccer game while taking blood from a 19-year-old seizure patient — and suffered no consequences.

The patient, Libby Bates, was taken in an ambulance from her home in southeast London to Queen Elizabeth Hospital on February 8 after having a non-epileptic seizure.

Her mother, Nicola, knew that in the past health workers have struggled to find a vein to take her daughter’s blood, so she warned the technician that they might require an ultrasound machine.

But Nicola claims the nurse “ignored” her and attempted to take Libby’s blood anyway — all while watching the match on his phone propped up against the computer on his desk.

It’s believed he was watching the cup match between French professional men’s football club Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain, in which Marseille beat PSG 2-1.

The nurse even entered the room prior to the procedure while watching the game with the volume turned on and continued to watch a goal go in as the needle was in Libby’s hand.

A photo taken at around 10:30 p.m. shows the man looking at the phone and turning away from the patient as he is trying to administer the needle.

Nicola said Libby’s hand was covered in bruises after multiple unsuccessful attempts to find a vein, as she warned could happen.

“He was looking at the phone, watching a goal, when he had the needle in my daughter’s hand,” Nicola told South West News Service. “He didn’t even notice me taking photos. On the way out, I said, ‘enjoy your football’, and he laughed. Her hand was covered in bruises.”

Libby and Nicola received an apology from Lewisham and Greenwich National Health System Trust that runs the hospital, but no action was taken to discipline the nurse, Nicola reported. “Not good enough,” she said, but the trust told the mom of three to take it up with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

“I think he should have been disciplined. He was watching the football when we came in, with the sound on. He didn’t talk to my daughter the whole time we were in there,” Nicola shared.

She added, “He hurt my daughter while trying to take her blood. There was no care and I told another nurse at the time he was watching football but I was ignored.

“My daughter now has no trust in hospitals, as she has been going regularly for the past two years due to non-epileptic seizures.”

The trust that runs the hospital claimed the nurse was on his break but decided to treat Libby during his downtime anyway.

“With hindsight, he recognizes his error and apologizes for being distracted by his phone, which should have been switched off and put aside while tending to a patient. He has assured the investigator that this will never happen again,” a spokesperson for the trust said in a statement to SWNS.

The hospital also said it would be more diligent at looking out for “inappropriate use of mobile phones.”

“I’m not happy with their explanation at all. He wasn’t on a break. He saw patients before my daughter and after,” Nicola said in reply to the response.

The trust responded one more time, saying, “We carried out a detailed investigation when Ms. Bates complained about her daughter’s care and sent her a full response on April 15, addressing all of her concerns. We would encourage her to contact our complaints team if she has any further concerns.”