Having one of your patients collapse after a flu jab is a scary prospect - but that's what happened at Michael and Ruth's surgery. A mix-up with notes falling from patients' files led to this error. And Leyla was reluctant to confess, understandably. She's wanting to show her hubby that she's a great manager but keeping quiet about her mistake left Ruth taking the rap. This was not fair.
My heart went out to Ruth for having a crisis but perhaps it's for the best that Andy saw her in a vulnerable state. Mental health can be difficult to understand so let's hope Andy can begin to gain an understanding of how she must feel.
Yeah, that's an awful one. I have been in Andy's position with a friend, who would scream at me and attack me when she was having an episode and then criticise me for not just "accepting" it. I suspect this might be a very short marriage...
After watching last night's episode I wondered if the show has a medical advisor? The GP appeared to give an adrenaline injection into a man's sternum. In my experience as a nurse giving flu vaccines, we are told if an anaphylactic reaction is suspected to give adrenaline intramuscularly, usually into the thigh. In addition the GP ought to have asked the patient if he had an allergy to eggs or chicken prior to administering the vaccine.
Poor Ruth,that was so unfair of Leyla to let Ruth take the rap for that.She should have told her husband the truth as this really upset poor Ruth very much.Excellent acting and very good. Ruth did her part so well i really felt so sorry for her as she wasnt to blame for this it was Leyla.I was very surprised at Ruth throwing a glass at Andy he must have been really shocked at her behaviour.He did the right thing getting Scott to come over though to talk to Ruth.At least now that Ruths medication can hopefully be sorted out then hopefully things will get better for her again.And im sure Andy will try and help her through this and understand better about the illness.I really hope Leyla realises just how much this has affected Ruth and she tells her husband the truth that it was her and not Ruths mistake.She owes Ruth a very big apology for putting her through that as she should take the rap for it not Ruth.
Thanks for getting in touch with us, FriendofCato. Thank you for writing to us about the flu jab story in a recent River City. We always value audience feedback and comments and hope this response addresses your concerns. It is our intention at River City to present believable and dramatic episodes and therefore we take the role of research very seriously.
In addition to our own online research, we sought the advice of two GPs and a registered nurse during the course of developing the flu jab and egg allergy story. We did not want to suggest that Michael, or any other character, is incompetent. Rather, we wanted to tell the story of a chaotic day in the Health Centre where a catalogue of errors and stresses affect each of the characters involved.
Ruth, Leyla, Michael and Mr Stewart are all, in their own way, culpable for what happened and Leyla does acknowledge this later in the episode. Ruth doesn’t make clear the importance of the pre-assessments to Leyla, and the note to go missing as a result of Leyla’s flustering under stress, Michael, when presented with an un-flagged medical file, doesn’t think to ask about allergies.
During the course of our research we were informed that Mr Stewart would always have received the flu jab whether he had an egg allergy or not. Had Michael known about the allergy he would have insisted Mr Stewart stay in reception for 45 minutes in case of a bad reaction. Instead Michael offers the standard advice of a 5 minute wait after the injection, which Mr Stewart ignores.
We do, however, accept that with the portrayal of Mr Stewart's adrenalin shot we went with the most extreme measure for the situation for dramatic effect.
I hope that answers your concerns. Thanks again for taking the time to give us your feedback. We really value audience feedback and enjoy reading your responses to the show.
Comment number 1.
At 22:54 19th Oct 2010, wic2007 wrote:Yeah, that's an awful one. I have been in Andy's position with a friend, who would scream at me and attack me when she was having an episode and then criticise me for not just "accepting" it. I suspect this might be a very short marriage...
"Jimmy! Now!" Memories... ;-)
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Comment number 2.
At 12:06 20th Oct 2010, FriendofCato wrote:After watching last night's episode I wondered if the show has a medical advisor? The GP appeared to give an adrenaline injection into a man's sternum. In my experience as a nurse giving flu vaccines, we are told if an anaphylactic reaction is suspected to give adrenaline intramuscularly, usually into the thigh. In addition the GP ought to have asked the patient if he had an allergy to eggs or chicken prior to administering the vaccine.
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Comment number 3.
At 20:31 24th Oct 2010, lesley wrote:Poor Ruth,that was so unfair of Leyla to let Ruth take the rap for that.She should have told her husband the truth as this really upset poor Ruth very much.Excellent acting and very good. Ruth did her part so well i really felt so sorry for her as she wasnt to blame for this it was Leyla.I was very surprised at Ruth throwing a glass at Andy he must have been really shocked at her behaviour.He did the right thing getting Scott to come over though to talk to Ruth.At least now that Ruths medication can hopefully be sorted out then hopefully things will get better for her again.And im sure Andy will try and help her through this and understand better about the illness.I really hope Leyla realises just how much this has affected Ruth and she tells her husband the truth that it was her and not Ruths mistake.She owes Ruth a very big apology for putting her through that as she should take the rap for it not Ruth.
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Comment number 4.
At 23:43 27th Oct 2010, jewels wrote:I think the ending of River City was totally ace on Tuesday, totally ace!!!
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Comment number 5.
At 14:57 11th Nov 2010, Anna wrote:Hi there
Thanks for getting in touch with us, FriendofCato. Thank you for writing to us about the flu jab story in a recent River City. We always value audience feedback and comments and hope this response addresses your concerns. It is our intention at River City to present believable and dramatic episodes and therefore we take the role of research very seriously.
In addition to our own online research, we sought the advice of two GPs and a registered nurse during the course of developing the flu jab and egg allergy story. We did not want to suggest that Michael, or any other character, is incompetent. Rather, we wanted to tell the story of a chaotic day in the Health Centre where a catalogue of errors and stresses affect each of the characters involved.
Ruth, Leyla, Michael and Mr Stewart are all, in their own way, culpable for what happened and Leyla does acknowledge this later in the episode. Ruth doesn’t make clear the importance of the pre-assessments to Leyla, and the note to go missing as a result of Leyla’s flustering under stress, Michael, when presented with an un-flagged medical file, doesn’t think to ask about allergies.
During the course of our research we were informed that Mr Stewart would always have received the flu jab whether he had an egg allergy or not. Had Michael known about the allergy he would have insisted Mr Stewart stay in reception for 45 minutes in case of a bad reaction. Instead Michael offers the standard advice of a 5 minute wait after the injection, which Mr Stewart ignores.
We do, however, accept that with the portrayal of Mr Stewart's adrenalin shot we went with the most extreme measure for the situation for dramatic effect.
I hope that answers your concerns. Thanks again for taking the time to give us your feedback. We really value audience feedback and enjoy reading your responses to the show.
Many thanks, Anna
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