Is this backwards or is it just me?

[abbaking]

During my downtime on noc shift, I have a tendency to stock the occupied patient rooms with all needed emergency supplies (ambu bag, suction, flowmeter, tubing, etc). Having worked in the emergency department, I understand the need for supplies right where you need them during an emergency.

During a staff meeting recently, It was brought up that I made sure each bed was fully stocked. Rather than praise my efforts at making sure disaster could be avoided, I was thrown under the bus (yet again).

"In an emergency the code cart has all the needed supplies"

So, let me see if i understand this. A patient codes. The patients bed just happens to NOT be stocked with an oxygen flowmeter or any other supplies. We need to get the code cart O2 tank for something that should have been there in the first place?

IN EVERY CODE BLUE OR RAPID RESPONSE I HAVE EVER PARTICIPATED IN - NOBODY HAS EVER USED THE TANK OXYGEN OR DINKY SUCTION CANISTER. Everyones reaction is what is in front of them - not to the side in a cart. Thats why in every code/rapid response, the main drive is to look for the wall oxygen flowmeter/wall suction.

The unit rooms should be stocked with all appropriate supplies so that care can be provided.

But what do I know - 10 years of bedside experience can't compete with managerial stupidity

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

[GreyGull]

I don't care how much $ it costs when you are talking about peoples lives! We are talking about hospitals here!!!.

So am I!

Do you know how deadly infections are to patients who are already compromised?

Equipment such as flowmeters and suction setup should be in each room and cleaned just as any other piece of nondisposable equipment.

Packaged oxygen equipment should NEVER be left open at bedside "just in case". That one person who happens to be the "just in case" may get more than the came in for with that routine 2 L NC that has been hanging around for days on the flowmeter. That BVM that has been on a hook in the corner may be a false sense of security and it may no work when needed since it has been around "just in case" collecting dust.

It doesn't take much to have these things easily accessible in a rack in a common place.

Think of your patients and put things in an easily accessible place but not where they are contaminated by coughing, sputum blowing patients or the feces and blood spatterers. Nothing more discussing than opening a NRB mask in an emergency that has been hanging "just in case" and is splattered with old blood and poop which probably isn't that patients.

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

I've done peds, where the belief has always been "kids go south fast, so let's have everything necessary at the bedside." Therefore we always put BVM, suction equipment, O2, etc at bedside. However, this doesn't end up being a "waste" of money as we are allowed to reuse them on the next pt if we did not have to use them at all and if the room was not an isolation. So if the next pt has the same size mask, and we did not use it with the first pt, we can keep it in the room for the second pt.

Oh, BTW, I am a firm believer in having everything at the beside, whether the pt is a seizure pt, unstable, etc or not. The worst code I ever assisted in was an 8 week old baby who was perfectly stable that just happened to have baby's first grand mal seizure while in the hospital and went in to respiratory arrest. We had no pulse ox, no bag mask, etc at the bedside because the pt had no history of seizures.

[pedicurn, LPN, RN]

I have never worked anywhere that doesn't have fully equiped suction and oxygen at each bed.

Yankeur, flowmeter, Hudson and NRB are standard.

Wouldn't work anywhere that didn't have this