my manager is out on medical leave, and i got drafted to attend a management meeting for her. what an eye opener! there were a number of five-star management decisions made and communicated, but the one i'm referring to is the new lift policy. nursing staff must assess each patient for fall risk, and those with moderate or high risk for falls must be put on the fall protocol. that means that any patient at risk for falls who is not independent requires nursing help every time they are out of bed. if the patient weighs more than 25 pounds, nursing staff is not to attempt to lift them; we're to use a lift device. attempting to lift a patient who weights more than 25 pounds without a lift device is subject to disciplinary action up to and including losing your job. and here's the kicker -- there are only 5 antiquated lift devices in our 500 bed hospital . . . . and no money in the budget to acquire more.
so you're subject to disciplinary action if you attempt to get a patient weighing more than 25 pounds out of bed without a lift device. but there are no lift devices available nor are there plans to acquire them.
the scary thing is that management professed not to see the issue with that until it was vociferously pointed out to them during the meeting.
policy still goes into effect april 4. how stupid is that?!
:yeah:fun times ahead. Logistical nightmare for the potty!!
Actually, an ICU I did my preceptorship back in school at, had just installed excellent hoyer-type lifts with ceiling track and remote control. AWESOME. Having a patient up in the air flying around like that reminded me of the stork with a baby bundle...
Some how I'm lucky enough to work in a unit with several rooms with these, and a hoyer lift. AND they have finally got the approval to put the ceiling lifts in the rest of our unit's rooms without a lift. I'm excited.
Five stars? Sounds more like a bunch of black holes to me....
Or perhaps brown
A classic example of how meetings keep minutes and waste hours.
Seriously, OP, the only way to tackle this idiocy is to assess how many new lifts are needed in each department, have them put onto CapEx as an emergency purchase and submit ASAP to management. Compose a list of all logistical drawbacks to the new ruling and send copies to each member of management; keep your own copy plus a copy of the CapEx request. This will provide evidence which can be brought against management should any patient be harmed, or any staff member be disciplined as a result of the new ruling.
CYA plus those of your co-workers, and put management's on the line.
Maybe we need some clarification because my first thought was the same as many folks . . . 25 pound patients are peds patients.
I do have a hospice patient who has withered away to 50 pounds but I can lift her easily - heck, that's how much my bag of dog food weighs and I carry it in from the car. And she's the exception to the rule about adult patients and how much they weigh.
I agree with Leslie: "if it looks good on paper". We have a "no-lift" policy that our hospital brags about. We have 2 hover mats for 300 beds. We have one Ergo Nurse contraption that can be used but it is a pain in the rear to get into the room because it has to go at the head of bed (where the ventilator, IV pumps and other machinery are located).
The hospital prides itself on having these policies in place but in reality they are there to protect them, not us.
Maybe we need some clarification because my first thought was the same as many folks . . . 25 pound patients are peds patients.
I do have a hospice patient who has withered away to 50 pounds but I can lift her easily - heck, that's how much my bag of dog food weighs and I carry it in from the car. And she's the exception to the rule about adult patients and how much they weigh.
So Ruby - what does 25 pounds mean?
Thanks!
steph
True; I'm thinking in kilograms, and 25kg would put a bit too much strain on my back, although for a normal, reasonably supple person, it's easily doable. But 25 pounds, that's only 12.5kg; I pick up kids anything up to 20kg with no problem.
We can't even come up with a Hoyer lift pad big enough to haul these extra large folks out of bed, so we don't! We used to have them, where did they go?
Sounds more like a bunch of black holes to me....
gauge14iv, MSN, APRN, NP
1,622 Posts
The doctor will write an order to "weigh daily"