Patient Right To Refuse Room Change ?

Nurses Relations

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Do pt.'s in a in a hospital setting have the right to refuse a room change ? I work on a busy med/surg floor. We were getting two new admits. I was to transfer one of my patients to another room. She was upset and crying, she didn't want to change rooms. The family was also there and were upset this was the second room change in a week. I advocated for her stating she had the right to refuse......to make a long story short the supervisor ripped me a new one and yelled in my face...."This is a hospital, they don't have the right to refuse a room change." Legal opinions on the subject ? Was that a wrong call on my part ?

Specializes in Pedi.
Lol public hospitals in Ireland still have 6 bed wards. Some people who know the system get worried when they get a single room they think that they either have an infection or are dying!

The public hospital I work at in Australia has triples.

Just a quick hijack.........sorry!

I heard this same kind of thing from a colleague who moved to Israel. She went to do Pedi Heme/Onc over there and said people didn't want to be in private rooms because it reminded them of being in isolation during stem cell transplant.

I've done some work in developing countries... In Nicaragua, the public hospital we toured had ten to a room easily and the "beds" were stretchers. In Tanzania, the private hospital I volunteered at had 4-6 to a room minimum. The public hospital had people sharing beds. I also had a colleague who'd done missionary work in Africa in a pediatric hospital and she said there it was 2 to a bed and the parents slept on the floor.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Technically they can't "refuse" if it is medically necessary to have the room. However......As a patient, if I was moved that much I'd be upset too......if the patient really had to be moved I'd let the supervisor know and let her calm the patient.

As a supervisor....your supervisor should not have treated you theat way. That was unprofessional an uncalled for. If I knew a patient was that upset and it had to be done....I'd speak with the patient myself. If it was a private room issue I would do my best to find one on another floor.

I agree with Esme's post.

The supervisor was unprofessional.

However, you most likely should not have said the patient had a "right" not to be moved.

Live and learn . . .hopefully with someone more willing to teach you kindly.

Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

so many factors to consider - all previously stated. Bottom line, we do what we have to do to accommodate the most people and sometimes that is inconvienent. The hospital is not a hotel. If patient care is being affected, then the change is needed.

Specializes in Med/Surg,Cardiac.

I would be upset as the patient but you have to do what is best overall.

What irks me is when we had a new admit ask to change rooms for a better view. Seriously, if your main concern while hospitalized is your view, please go home. Sad part is that management accommodated and we had to take them on a tour of our empty rooms until they found one they liked. Ugh... Customer service drives me nuts.

~ No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent -Eleanor Roosevelt ~

complaints of the view . as they can not see the lake from this room. how do you even respond to an adult angry about this. haha

Specializes in Med/Surg,Cardiac.
complaints of the view . as they can not see the lake from this room. how do you even respond to an adult angry about this. haha

Like this - - - > =O

~ No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent -Eleanor Roosevelt ~

.....AND private duty nurses can come to be with the patient at the luxury hotel and spa on the lake. Be sure to ask for the room with the view.....

Or we can roll a bed into your current room, put the dying patient and family next to you, or ya'll can wear a mask 24/7 for the patient who has the flu who needs this room.

Either one will be schooled on not disturbing you when you are watching the Price is Right......

Honestly, changing rooms is not ideal, but sometimes, it needs to happen. And more frequently than one would like. If you are well enough to be that incovenienced by the whole thing, then perhaps you are well enough to start putting your discharge plan into action.

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