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Home / Sport / Tennis

Did Andy Murray receive 'sub-optimal' care? Hospital bed selfie ridiculed by medics

NZ Herald
31 Jan, 2019 05:29 PM4 mins to read

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Rabbitohs' Legend Greg Inglis is set to miss the start of the NRL for being 15kg overweight, Andy Murray reveals twig and berries in x-ray photo and the Warriors undergo rigorous pre season training.

Sir Andy Murray amassed thousands of 'likes' when the tennis star posted a picture of him in a hospital bed following hip surgery on Instagram.

However, now a group of specialist US doctors have revealed it is 'unlikely any of those' came from vascular access clinicians.

The Association for Vascular Access (AVA), based in Utah, has accused doctors of giving the former Wimbledon champion 'sub-optimal' care.

In a scathing attack on Murray's care, the group annotated the 31-year-old's picture to detail what they claim are seven mistakes.

They included two drips placed in his playing arm and a blood pressure cuff on the same arm as the drips.

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Murray posted a snap of himself recovering from a 'hip resurfacing' procedure at an undisclosed hospital in London on Tuesday.

When Sir Andy Murray shared a photo from his hospital bed it got hundreds of thousands of likes, but it's unlikely any of those came from vascular access clinicians. https://t.co/nNPmrGg7JN pic.twitter.com/1xtbh2VKpQ

— Association for Vascular Access (@ISaveThatLine) January 30, 2019

The Scot posted a picture of himself in a hospital gown with a cannula coming out of his arm and a copy of his X-ray to share the news with his fans.

But eagle-eyed Instagram users were quick to point out that the scan did not just show his bones - it revealed an image of his private parts too.

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The AVA wrote a lengthy article on its website pointing out everything it considered 'wrong' with Murray's care.

It claimed the drips should not have been placed in Murray's right arm, which he uses to play competitive tennis.

The AVA added that, in any case, the blood pressure cuff should be on the 'free' arm and not the same one used for the drip.

Murray's 'hairy arms' should have been clipped and blood can be seen in one of the tubes which should have been 'flushed', it claimed. While dressing and tape was not letting blood flow properly, it added.

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Finally, the AVA claimed stopcocks visible in the picture should have been removed 'immediately following surgery' to reduce infection risk.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Andy Murray (@andymurray)

Vascular access refers to rapid and direct methods of introducing or removing devices or chemicals from the bloodstream, such an IV drip.

The AVA claimed: 'When Sir Andy Murray shared a photo from his hospital bed it got hundreds of thousands of likes, but it's unlikely any of those came from vascular access clinicians.'

After the article was shared on Twitter yesterday afternoon, it divided opinion among professionals.

User @akstone4094 wrote: 'Once move out of anesthesia and to the floor, cuff should placed on the arm opposite the IV.

'The blood in the line and the dressing should have been addressed.'

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And @skirchy wrote: 'Even I know you shouldn't have blood pressure cuff on the same arm as an IV.'

But an RAF doctor, Squadron Leader Dr Peter Lax, annotated the annotated picture to rebuff the association, including claiming that arm hair should not be clipped as it increases infection risk.

User @doctorwibble countered: 'He's likely to have been in the left lateral position for surgery, so it would be entirely normal practice to site the drip in the uppermost arm (right in this case), ditto the BP, blood pressure, cuff on the arm he's not lying on.'

And @WelshGasDoc wrote: 'They've really p***** me off. These super-sub specialist associations sound lofty and worthy, but their clinical relevance really is lacking.'

In its article, the AVA, claimed: 'Andy, a multi-millionaire and celebrity, shared photos of his PIVs and probably had no idea just how sub-optimal his vascular access care was.

'The hundreds of thousands of fans who liked the photo probably had no idea either.

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'This is happening every day in hospitals and clinics everywhere, in part because vascular access is not adequately covered in nursing or medical school.

'Fifty people die every day in American hospitals because of complications resulting from their vascular access devices.

'Andy did not become part of that statistic, but thousands of others do every year. We need to do better, not just for the rich and famous - but for all of us.'

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