Not every family who visits is there to be supportive of the patient. Some of them are even downright unsupportive. Here are some of the worst visitors I've ever seen -- how about you?
There was the woman who'd had an aortic dissection repair, and things didn't go well. She had a perioperitive MI, a CVA and sepsis. All told, she was a patient in our ICU for six months. I didn't hear much about the patient's life from HER; she was confused and mostly nonverbal.
Her sister, however, sat at her bedside for hours and wanted to chat with the nurse. The sister, Katie, was a nice person and since I had just moved to the area, gave me a lot of tips about restaurants to try, where NOT to get your car repaired, and the like.
The HUSBAND, Milton, rarely showed up and when he did, he was the type of man who bellowed about "his rights" rather than understanding that when the patient is in CT (or having a line placed), the patient is unavailable for visitors, even of the spousal nature.
Katie put up pictures in the patient's room -- a smiling picture of her and her sister together, and multiple pictures of the patient's beloved dogs. "They're just like her children," Katie explained. "Milton never wanted children." Tellingly, there were no picture of Milton in the room.
He and Katie barely spoke and Katie told us that when Milton married her sister, he quit working and expected that she would support him, do all the cooking and cleaning and take care of his mother as well. As for the patient, she lit up whenever Katie arrived, but shut down whenever Milton did.
One weekend afternoon, Milton showed up just as I was helping the patient's nurse finish a bath and linen change. Without waiting for the two of us to finish up or get the dirty linen out of the way, Milton leaned over the bed and whispered (loudly enough for the patient and both of the nurses in the room to hear) "I killed your dogs. I said I would do it, and I did." That man has to take the prize for being ONE of the worst hospital visitors I've ever seen.
Years ago, when I worked in CCU, a 58 year old woman was admitted in cardiogenic shock. We placed a balloon pump, lined her, gave her multiple doses of morphine and finally, scheduled surgery for the following day. (The surgeon wanted to do it immediately, but there was already an emergency surgery in progress and the on call OR team were already in that OR.)
At six the next morning, I'm filling out the pre-op check list and a woman breezes in with two toddlers in tow. As I tried to explain to her that visitors under sixteen weren't allowed in the CCU, she told me that she had "just come to drop off her kids for their granny to watch."
Then there was the visitor who injected the patient with some street drug, right through the conveniently placed central line, because "Y'all don't give him none of the good stuff in here."
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
What about the rights of the patient to not be abused. You didn't specify what kind of surgery the patient had, but I'm guessing that having sex immediately post op was probably not recommended. Have they gone so far with these frikken surveys that keeping our patients free of abuse goes out the window for fear of getting a bad review.
Even if the girlfriend wanted to have sex immediately after surgery, what about the patient in the next bed being forced to listen to that? What is she needed to go to the bathroom and didn't want to walk past the BF in her hospital gown? Didn't that other patient have any rights at all?
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
Even if the girlfriend wanted to have sex immediately after surgery, what about the patient in the next bed being forced to listen to that? What is she needed to go to the bathroom and didn't want to walk past the BF in her hospital gown? Didn't that other patient have any rights at all?
Yeah, the patients in the adjacent beds should have had a lot to tell the Press-Ganey people about what kind of hospital they were in.
Ruby Vee what happened to that poor women? Did she ever recover? How sad that he killed her dogs, that would have certainly hurt her and decrease her will to live! Too bad he couldn't be charged for animal abuse and mental cruelty to his wife! Well I imagine there is a special place in hell waiting for him!
Oh, ick! I'd really hate to be the patient in the other bed!
Right?? What about that pt's satisfaction?
"Umm...the food was as expected but negative 10000 points for letting the the patient in the bed next to mine have sex with her gross, demanding b/f all night." Sheesh!!!!
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
There are so many!
There was the lady who had multiple complications post CABG. She was in ICU FOR EVER!. After a few week we noticed she had lice! LIce? Where the devil did she get that? So we treated her...and treated her... and treated her...What the heck?
Then we noticed th the family would come in and "Fix her hair". Ewe!
But the family decided to camp out in the ICU waiting room....the entire family. THey would "wash" their clothed in the sink in the waiting room. They took over the entire waiting room...day and night. They would have sex right there on the floor. Then we noticed that they ALL had lice!!!!!!!!! and they were laying all over the floor, furniture everything! YUCK!!!!!!! I saw them walking out of her room one morning scratch their head pull something from out and flick it in the floor!!!!
We had to treat them ALL and get rid of the entire waiting room furniture...we closed the waiting area for "remodeling". It still makes my skin crawl.
For me, it was the BF/GF couple that came to visit pt - but he was down in radiology. Got brought back to his room and found his two visitors nekkid and having sex in his bed.
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
I would've kicked that man out after he made that comment about killing the dogs. Not only do I feel horrible for the dogs but the woman as well. She's trying to recover & the expletive of a "husband" comes in & does that. Screw the scores, he's OUT!
When the son was told that he couldn't just leave his father at the hospital all day, he said that he had to work and had nobody to look after his father.
The hospital isn't free adult day care.
So where was the social worker, to help the son get placement?
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Ruby Vee, BSN
17 Articles; 14,051 Posts
Even if the girlfriend wanted to have sex immediately after surgery, what about the patient in the next bed being forced to listen to that? What is she needed to go to the bathroom and didn't want to walk past the BF in her hospital gown? Didn't that other patient have any rights at all?