Call bell dilemma

BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN · Nov 27, 2015

Oh my. Such an idealistic first post. Welcome to AN, I guess.

I have a simple solution for the multitudes of call bells that would not only reduce the number but also produce revenue for the hospital. Simply give each patient a daily quota of "free" calls and after the quota is met, then a charge per bell will be charged to the patient. A different level of free service bells could be based on the condition and diagnosis of patient. This would not take the place of hourly rounding.

allnurses Guide · Nov 27, 2015

The problem I see here is if the patient has dementia or some other mental health or cognitive issue explanations won't work. For some consistent boundaries will be effective - others are not capable of understanding so such a plan would have no value.

martymoose, BSN, RN · Nov 27, 2015

And this is why, when I'm not at clinicals, the sound of beeping or bells makes me paranoid!!! I'm like, "what is that noise! What's going on?" Then my child has to explain, that's part of the tv show or its outside!
#alarmfatigue

No kidding! I literally hear them in my sleep!!!

martymoose, BSN, RN · Nov 27, 2015

The problem I see here is if the patient has dementia or some other mental health or cognitive issue explanations won't work. For some consistent boundaries will be effective - others are not capable of understanding so such a plan would have no value.

This describes 90% of my pts.

For the 10% that remain, boundaries wouldn't be part of the customer service"I'm more important than anyone else"

Princess Bubblegum · Nov 28, 2015

Most of our patients just lay in bed with their call lights in their hands and yell "NURSE!!!" or send their family members out to harass the monitor tech. I would rather have a call light abuser any day.

~PedsRN~, BSN, RN · Nov 28, 2015

How about a call light that has user go through a "phone menu" with numbers to press for different options. :

We have this, somewhat - when the call bell rings, it is answered at the desk. The secretary asks what the patient needs. Most of them say "The nurse" which is fine and dandy, but the secretary asks... What can she do for you? A lot of times it's something like "bring me a blanket, water, etc" and then the secretary sends that to the techs. If the patient is having a seizure, needs pain medication, etc - it pages to me.

We carry ascom phones. So when I get a page from the call bell system, it tells me what the patient needs... "PAIN MED" or "ASSIST" or "SEIZURE" or even "QUESTION", etc.

It's good and it's bad. It's good when the patients actually are forthcoming with their needs. But when they say "I just need to see the nurse" and I get that page, and end up putting it behind other pressing needs and it turns out the kid was having a seizure or 10/10 pain, I get rung up the ladder. I try and educate my patients on how to use the call bell system. It helps.

They can also dial directly to my phone, and I give my patients my number each night - write it on the white board. This way they can call me and I can either answer a question without going into the room, or tell them that I will be a few minutes so they have that expectation. Again, this works well to a point - but it's not the best feeling to be sneaking into a tiny infants room to give an IV medication like a ninja at 0300, just to have your phone go off at 574666564 decibels.

CaffeinePOQ4HPRN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN · Dec 2, 2015

I have a simple solution for the multitudes of call bells that would not only reduce the number but also produce revenue for the hospital. Simply give each patient a daily quota of "free" calls and after the quota is met, then a charge per bell will be charged to the patient. A different level of free service bells could be based on the condition and diagnosis of patient. This would not take the place of hourly rounding.

A million times yes! Patent this idea if you can! Hospitals would love this b/c it = more $$$ in their pocket... and we all know how hospitals/CEOs only care about $$$.