Just recently we had a devout Roman Catholic patient who was asking us to get a priest to administer the Last Rites.
No problem, we bent over backwards to meet the patients wishes. Total nightmare ensues. Switchboard calls the number. No response. We call the on-call chaplain (not an ordained priest) No answer. We leave a message.
We look up local Catholic churches on the computer get some numbers and call those. No-one answers the phone so we leave more messages.
In desperation we call Catholic churches further from us. Our patient needs a priest and we must find one. Two hours have gone by. Our patient is upset and we are distraught that we cannot help him try as we might. All seems lost.
Then an elderly priest shows up. We are delighted. We direct him to the patient and he hurries to the bedside. The phone rings. Switchboard "Oh sorry the phone wasn't redirecting to your ward"
Ten minutes later a young priest shows up wanting to know where the patient is. We explain another priest is attending and apologise for the problem with the ward phones. Twenty minutes later yet another RC priest comes to the ward. We have more priests than the Vatican at this point! All wanting to know why we were not answering their phone calls.
What a total cock-up from Switchboard! But all was well in the end . The patient got what he wanted but Matron laughed at us saying we went a bit over the top!
Once had a s.i.d.s. baby come in, too late. Family requested a priest. Upon arrival, priest asked "how long has the little girl been dead?" Then he walked into the family room, told the family the baby was dead too long and would suffer in limbo for eternity. He made a quick about face and was gone. Ironic isn't it that the cruelist thing I ever witnessed in 30 years in healthcare was inflicted on a young family by a priest.
ebear, BSN, RN
934 Posts
Oh NO! How awful!