A hospital worker who was distracted by a football match while injecting a young woman was not disciplined, despite being photographed in the act.

The Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust apologised to Libby Bates and her mother Nicola, but no action was taken against the triage technician.

Nicola said the response was “not good enough” but the trust had told her to take it up with Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

“I think he should have been disciplined,” she said.

Libby, 19, from Erith, was taken by ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, on February 8 after a non-epileptic seizure.

Nicola knew NHS workers often struggled to locate a vein to test Libby’s blood, so warned the triage technician that an ultrasound machine was often needed.

But the technician “ignored” her, she said, and tried to take Libby’s blood anyway – whilst watching a football match on a mobile phone propped up against the computer on his desk.

“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,” she said.

Libby told the News Shopper that the repeated unsuccessful attempts to take her blood were painful.

“He was looking at the phone, watching a goal, when he had the needle in my daughter’s hand,” Nicola said.

“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.”

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News Shopper: Libby Bates and her mother Nicola were upset by both her treatment and the hospital's response to their complaintLibby Bates and her mother Nicola were upset by both her treatment and the hospital's response to their complaint (Image: Charles Thomson)

The trust responded to Nicola’s complaint by claiming the technician was taking a break in the triage room but decided to treat Libby anyway.

“With hindsight, he recognises his error and apologises for being distracted by his phone, which should have been switched off and put aside while tending to a patient,” the trust wrote.

“He has assured [the investigator] that this will never happen again.”

The hospital said it would monitor “inappropriate use of mobile phones” by staff.

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

The trust responded: “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.”