No Excuse for Mistake....

[Jolie]

I'll preface this by saying that I'm home with a sick child who's beginning to feel better and looking for every possible excuse not to do the work that I should be doing. I ran across this article and it has me shaking my head. Clearly the staff screwed up and owes this mother an apology as well as a visit to address her concerns. But her comments seem a bit over the top.

To summarize, Mom took her 4 month old son to an urgent care at approximately 7:00 pm because he had a cough and she hoped to get a chest x-ray. They were placed in an exam room and told the doc would see them in about 10 minutes. She fed the baby a bottle, changed his diaper and realized that 1/2 hour had passed without seeing anyone, so she opened the door to find that the clinic had closed and they were alone in the building. She broke down crying and called her mom-in-law, according to Inside Edition. While attempting to leave the building, she set off an alarm, which caused her to panic. Fortunately, a cleaning crew let her out of the building where she was met by security.

"It was terrifying just to know you are alone in there. My son was having trouble breathing. What if I was back there and he would've stopped breathing? No one was there. It angered me. I've worked in the nursing field and how do you forget about a patient?” she told Inside Edition. Kason didn't received treatment and spent the night crying, Lewitt told KOMO.

A photo apparently taken on her cell phone depicts an apparently healthy, sleeping baby in a car seat.

She states that she can't excuse the mistake that left her and her sick son abandoned in the dark.

The urgent care released a statement indicating that an investigation was underway.

Mother and baby left inside urgent care clinic after it closed | Fox News

If the mother genuinely believed the child's health to be in danger, why didn't she leave the building and head straight to the ER? I agree the staff screwed up big time, but this mother's dramatic statements are a bit much, not to mention that she has already given interviews to at least 2 media outlets. I guess everyone wants their 15 minutes.

[NuGuyNurse2b]

That's a convenient things some people add to indicate that they know, for sure, that any decent nurse would not make any given mistake.

wonder if the mom signs on to AN as "Lostsoull"

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/nursing-one-of-1074514.html

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

You would think she was left alone at the top of Mount Everest. I would be mildly annoyed if this happened to me ...maybe even amused. Going to the media would have never occurred to me, though.

No kidding. Even if the cleaning crew hadn't been there, did she not have a phone? Did the clinic not have phones on their desks?

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

so the only detail we have is that a 4month old having a cough and his mom wanted him to have a cxr?

such good parenting and i wonder if she indeed has worked in the "nursing field".

Nursing field being key, not a nurse

[Julius Seizure]

I've worked in the nursing field and how do you forget about a patient?” she told Inside Edition.

Well, I'VE worked "in the nursing field", and let me tell you, my brain is full to the brim of things to remember every day at work. And I have had more than a couple dreams in which I most certainly DID forget about assessing or medicating one of my patients. So, as someone "in the nursing field", I'm sure she can understand how chaotic and crazy things can get, and can't seriously be asking how something could be forgotten.

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

Maybe she needed a place to stay for the night so she hid from the staff....

[JBudd, MSN]

She broke down crying and called her mom-in-law,....

"It was terrifying just to know you are alone in there. My son was having trouble breathing. What if I was back there and he would've stopped breathing? No one was there. It angered me. I've worked in the nursing field and how do you forget about a patient?” she told Inside Edition. Kason didn't received treatment and spent the night crying, Lewitt told KOMO.

If she had a phone to call mama, she obviously could have called 911 if the baby started having distress. Gave him a bottle and changed diaper doesn't sound like the kid was dramatically ill

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

While mom may have been upset and dramatic, the "What if concerns" are legit.

What if it was a patient who arrested, and there was no one with him/her? Not found till the next day?

This was a near miss, but it really IS a big deal.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

No kidding. Even if the cleaning crew hadn't been there, did she not have a phone? Did the clinic not have phones on their desks?

Two words: learned helplessness...

It is easier for people to externalize everything that goes wrongly. Yes, the clinic staff dropped the ball and messed this one up. However, the mother could have taken more common-sense steps to help herself and her baby sooner.

[KarenMS]

While mom may have been upset and dramatic, the "What if concerns" are legit.

What if it was a patient who arrested, and there was no one with him/her? Not found till the next day?

This was a near miss, but it really IS a big deal.

I agree completely. Forgetting the existence of a patient is unacceptable.

[LuvScience]

It sounds like the mom is overstating the danger of this particular situation in preparation for a lawsuit. However, I disagree with the other posters on this thread who are describing this situation as a minor mistake on the part of clinic staff. Closing and locking up the clinic with a forgotten patient in an exam room is an unacceptably deficient level of care. Licensed nurses and other healthcare professionals should be held to the same standard in an urgent care clinic as any other setting. I would be furious if this happened to one of my family members, especially an elder who might not be as capable as a younger person. Furthermore, if I "forgot" about a patient in this manner, I would, at the very least, expect to be fired.