Any tips for placing a bedpan?

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I'm a CNA in a nursing home and I have one patient that always requests to use a bed pan but every time I give her one, she pees all over the sheets and I have to change the whole bed. She is a larger patient and not very mobile so I have a hard time with her, especially since she has to pee quite frequently (every hour or two). Lately I've just been having her get up to use the commode and she's been fine with that but that still takes a decent amount of time which you may know is in very short supply for CNAs!

Anyway, I wish I could know what I'm doing wrong! I know that I'm placing it the correct way because I do have another patient that also likes to use bed pans and she never wets the bed with them. But she is thinner and more mobile so maybe it's because I can place it better with her?

Are there just some patients that it doesn't work well on because of positioning issues? Or is it something that I'm just doing wrong? Any advice is appreciated. This is my first CNA job and I've only been there for 6 weeks so I know I still have a lot of learning to do.

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Sometimes it still gets the sheets wet no matter how you do it.

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Specializes in PACU, pre/postoperative, ortho.

I usually try to have them flare their thighs out a bit. Otherwise, the urine will pool & hit everything but the pain. Sometimes it doesn't matter what you try; there's still a mess. If the pt is able to get up, I'd try to do that as much as possible.

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If she can get up to the commode, she needs to do that. Using the bedpan all the time will only encourage her to not get up and she will lose what motility she has. There are, of course, times that she will need the bedpan, but one of the best things we can do for patients is to encourage them to get out of bed to void.

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Try placing a chuck ( bed pad) under the bedpan. That should keep the sheets dry.

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Specializes in Medical Oncology, ER.

i line the bedpan with chux or absorbent pads , and usually with a chuck sheet under that as well. no mess :)

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Try placing a chuck ( bed pad) under the bedpan. That should keep the sheets dry.

My facility does not have those :( The beds just have 1 fitted sheet and 1 or 2 draw sheets (which are those thick sheets for pulling a patient up in bed). She soaks through the draw sheet(s) and fitted sheet.

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i line the bedpan with chux or absorbent pads , and usually with a chuck sheet under that as well. no mess :)

I do line it with paper towels and that works perfectly for my other patient but not this one. I told another poster that we don't have chucks. But now I'm wondering if maybe I could put a brief around it to try to absorb it? Seems logistically complicated though. I tried putting a towel around it last time but that didn't work. hmmmm

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Specializes in Burn, ICU.

I agree that getting her up to the commode is probably better for her overall mobility. That said, sometimes I've had luck tucking a chux pad into the folds of the thighs and then draping it down into the pan. With some ladies the urine seems to go straight out & overshoots the pan! The chux "apron" redirects it (hopefully). Also, sit her as upright as she can tolerate so that gravity is working for you!

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My facility does not have those :( The beds just have 1 fitted sheet and 1 or 2 draw sheets (which are those thick sheets for pulling a patient up in bed). She soaks through the draw sheet(s) and fitted sheet.

Sometimes with larger patients it can be difficult to get the bedpan under them correctly and you end up with a mess. Try using a blanket instead of the draw sheet as it is thicker and will absorb more preventing it from going straight through to your fitted sheet.

I understand it can be difficult to find the time (or staff) to help a patient to the commode (trust me, I know!) but, as PPs have stated it IS important to get the patient up to the commode if they are able to and would likely be the best option as you are adding on time to this task by having to change the sheets every time, anyway.

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Sometimes with larger patients it can be difficult to get the bedpan under them correctly and you end up with a mess. Try using a blanket instead of the draw sheet as it is thicker and will absorb more preventing it from going straight through to your fitted sheet.

I understand it can be difficult to find the time (or staff) to help a patient to the commode (trust me, I know!) but, as PPs have stated it IS important to get the patient up to the commode if they are able to and would likely be the best option as you are adding on time to this task by having to change the sheets every time, anyway.

It must just be positioning issues due to her size and limited mobility. If I can't get the bedpan under her right, I don't think it'd be able to get a big blanket!

I think you all are right. I'll continue to just get her up to use the commode and it does work pretty well and she hasn't wet herself in that case yet!

Thanks!

(Also I hope it doesn't come off as condescending when I say anything about her size! I've got some weight to lose myself and seeing my larger patients struggle with things like this really motivates me to want to lose the weight!)

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Specializes in Neurosciences, stepdown, acute rehab, LTC.

Can you raise the head of the bed a tad ? I've had some people tolerate that, and it angles everything down towards the pan a bit. Also , I don't think you sounded condescending about her weight. I agree chux or at least pink pads would be nice in this case

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