Hospice PCA pump in LTC

[MarcusKspn]

Hi everyone,

I posted this before, but I couldn't find the threat, so I don't know I didn't post it right, so here it goes again. Sorry if it is posted somewhere else and I just couldn't find it.

had an interesting experience with one of our hospice patient this weekend. He had lung cancer that had spread to his spine, liver, etc.. very advanced, came to our facility to die. We were really having a hard time keeping his pain under control. On friday evening hospice got an order for subcut PCA morphine. I had to work the nightshift, got in report that he has a PCA pump, think to myself what a good thing, finaly some relief for the man. Anyway, after report is over I get started on my paperwork, do my assesments. After a little while I go down to his room to check on him. I'm expecting to see the Standart PCA pump that I was working with at the hospitals. Little box on a pole, double lock to get to the syringe with morphine. I go into his room, and don't see a thing. No PCA anywhere. I look around some more, check on him, and notice a little plastic tubing from his belly, I follow this tubing and find it leating to a little bag lying next to him in bed. I open the lock (which consists of a zipper) and see the PCA pump strapped on one side of the bag and a 1 liter IV bag of morphine strapped to the other side :eek: . No double lock, not even a single lock, just a zipper to keep people from just taking a needle and helping themselfs from a helping of morphine. I was in shock. I'm pretty sure that this setup is standard practice for the hospice for patients in their own home. But state regs say that all Narcotics in our facility have to be under double lock. If a survey team would have walked in and seen that thing, our butts would have been on fire faster that a joint at a Led Zeppelin concert. He passed away the next day, so the PCA pump is gone.

Man, I love hospice to death, really respect the work they do, and I wish more families were receptive about placing their families on hospice, but this thing had me sweating. lol

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

I never saw anything like that in a LTC facility either.. Only once have I even had a PCA pump... maybe the facility accepted him/ and that form of treatment knowing he wouldn't live that long:confused: As far as the double lock of narcs...yep thats the rule, but some of the stuff I've seen just sitting around????