![\"Pauline](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Q8UP6SPF4G530BVQXQ52.jpg\")
Pauline Shillito, a Lydd grandmother of seven in need of a plaster, was refused help from her local pharmacy and GP before being told to call 999<\/p>\nA grandmother of seven in need of a plaster after cutting her finger was refused help from her local pharmacy and GP – and told to call 999.<\/p>\n
Pauline Shillito injured herself while slicing a melon in her home in Lydd, on Romney Marsh, where she lives alone.<\/p>\n
Pauline Shillito, a Lydd grandmother of seven in need of a plaster, was refused help from her local pharmacy and GP before being told to call 999<\/p>\n
Although the wound was only minor, the 84-year-old started bleeding profusely because she takes blood-thinning medication, so she sought assistance at Well Pharmacy – a three-minute walk away on the corner of High Street and New Lane.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the pharmacist said, \u2018We don\u2019t deal with blood,\u2019\u201d said Mrs Shillito.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo then I went to the GP, but the receptionist said, \u2018We have no nurse on duty today,\u2019 and told me to call 999.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s absolutely disgusting. Can you imagine an ambulance coming because of a cut finger when there are people having heart attacks – all I needed was a plaster!\u201d<\/p>\n
Pharmacist Tunde Odelade \u2013 who spoke to the pensioner following the accident last Wednesday \u2013 told KentOnline his staff are not trained or insured to handle such injuries.<\/p>\n
![\"Well](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/I9HEXZNUPG2FUHSWOB6R.jpg\")
Well Pharmacy in Lydd turned away Mrs Shillito because its staff are not trained or insured to deal with blood<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a lot of blood. It was literally dripping down her arm onto the floor \u2013 in a pharmacy full of people, that\u2019s very unhygienic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her I couldn\u2019t help her because I can\u2019t deal with blood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did offer to take her details and call an ambulance, but she refused.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mrs Shillito says she was also turned away from Orchard House GP Surgery in Bleak Road because they \u201cdid not have a nurse on duty\u201d – and told to call 999.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, while walking home, she bumped into a neighbour.<\/p>\n
![\"Healthcare](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/X96QINI64ZFQFPJ6LEL5.jpg\")
Healthcare workers at Orchard House GP Surgery on Bleak Road, Lydd, told Mrs Shillito they were unable to treat her cut due to lack of staff<\/p>\n
\u201cShe saw me crying with a piece of blood-soaked kitchen towel around my finger and helped me,\u201d the former John Lewis shop assistant added.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe cleaned my finger and put a plaster on it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just lucky I have good neighbours.”<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Orchard House Surgery\u2019s operator, Invicta Health, said: \u201cWe are aware of the matter you have raised; however, we are unable to comment on issues relating to individual patients\u2019 care due to patient confidentiality.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur practice is committed to ensuring patients receive appropriate advice and access to the right healthcare service based on their clinical needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Ultimately,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GL6ZJNPRX7UPGQ8FRU8P.jpg\")
Ultimately, a neighbour helped Ms Shillito clean her finger and apply a plaster<\/p>\n
Mrs Shillito, who moved to Lydd from London seven years ago, told KentOnline she refused to call 999 because \u201cit wasn\u2019t an emergency\u201d and she \u201cdidn\u2019t want to waste the ambulance service\u2019s time\u201d.<\/p>\n
The NHS says 999 is for life-threatening emergencies like serious road traffic accidents, strokes and heart attacks.<\/p>\n
Dialling 111 is recommended when the medical situation does not rise to this severity, but you think medical help is needed right away.<\/p>\n
The 111 service can direct users to the best place to get help if their GP is unavailable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A grandmother of seven in need of a plaster after cutting her finger was refused help from her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78973,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[1088,96,529,309,1090,1118,5,6],"class_list":["post-78972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uk","tag-folkestone","tag-health","tag-human-interest","tag-kent","tag-romney-marsh","tag-syndicate","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116883534829373146","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}