Today a patients Caregiver was caught taking pictures of a patient by a nurse. The nurse told the patients nurse, she didn't think it was a big deal since it was the Caregiver (pt is comatose). The other nurse walked pass again and noticed the Caregiver taking pictures of the patients genital area. The nurse told the patients nurse again. The patients nurse said since the Caregiver makes decisions, she didn't know what to do?!?
Anybody experience this? I would think it's inappropriate even if it is the Caregiver. Anybody have a policy on visitors taking pictures of patients? How would you guys handle it?
Are visitors or decision makers allowed to take pictures of patients as long as it's for legitimate reasons?
Your take-away from this should be that we don't know who can or cannot take advantage of a compromised patient. Adult Protective Services should be called. This decision is not yours to make. You may face real consequences if it comes out that you were aware of the photos yet did nothing to protect your patient.
Specializes in Med Surg/ICU/Psych/Emergency/CEN/retired.
Whether or not that person is their decision maker doesn't matter. If it's abuse, it's abuse. Unless I was given a super good reason why the photos were necessary, I'd report it.
I find this alarming, but, like so may posts, I don't have all the facts,only what is stated here. Me, I would ask the caregiver what she/he was doing. Depending on the answer, I would report it. Better to be safe than sorry.
No one has the right to take pictures of another person's genitalia without permission. If they have a concern, they can speak to a doctor. A comatose patient has a right to privacy, just like anyone else. I would report this immediately. Parents are caregivers, but what do you think would happen if we had possession of those types of pictures? What possible use would a caregiver or family member have for those pictures? I would not leave them alone either.
What rationale did the photographer use when nurse inquired him/her? If family member was not aware of the 'no pics' rule, maybe re-education is a good place to start...
Unless it was for a legitimate reason (few & very far be-tween) I'd start going up the chain of command. Does your facility have any policy addressing such an issue?
I would confront the relative directly and ask what they are doing. There are very few scenarios I can think of where taking pics of a relative's private areas are necessary. This seems very sketchy to me.
This was not my patient and I'm not the nurse that witnessed the decision maker taking the pictures. I was working on the unit at the time. I'm not sure if there is a policy regarding this issue, I tried looking and couldn't find one. I just want an idea of what to do if it was ever my patient.
Noone on the unit knew how to handle it, nobody has experienced such a thing.
Specializes in Healthcare risk management and liability.
Also the nurse 1st noticed the decision maker taking pictures of the patients IV lines and arms.
This also makes me think that the photos are for documentation of care or some apparent concerns that the caregiver has about the care to the patient (infiltration, bruising, multiple sticks, skin breakdown?). Even more reason why I would want to be notified ASAP so that I could chat with the caregiver and deal with any concerns.
Elder abuse. This person probably sells the pics on a website or something sick. ABUSE!!! My mother was taken advantage of by a caregiver,but not in this way. This person needs to be locked up. There is not good reason for this. It is horrible and must stop. The patient has no way to consent to or resist this type of thing. It is up to those who are obliged to report this to the state to do so immediately.
roser13, ASN, RN
6,504 Posts
Your take-away from this should be that we don't know who can or cannot take advantage of a compromised patient. Adult Protective Services should be called. This decision is not yours to make. You may face real consequences if it comes out that you were aware of the photos yet did nothing to protect your patient.