We can't go on divert!

Specialties Emergency

Published

Specializes in Tele, ED/Pediatrics, CCU/MICU.

Has your ER ever tried this?!

We are unable to take our divert time during the month of February (diversion = financial loss for the hospital, and they want to "ensure that patients who are followed at our hospital will be brought here, and that pt's from other hospitals will go there instead")

I'm in a smaller community ER (30 bed plus 3 or 4 wall beds) so we're not getting big traumas or anything, but the department has been inundated!!

It's a "trial" of no diversion, which hopefully will not extend past this month... but it's terrible :o

All beds full (including the Trauma room for the most critical patients), several chest pains, ICU holds, Fast track is full, Pedi is full, wall beds are full.... all beds WITHIN the hospital are full.... it's gross.

We were fully staffed with a float and an extra nurse to take a room from each assignment/take the wall bed people.... and it was still nutty!!

I left work in tears and woke up this morning with a lump in my throat and a stomach ache....

Thoughts?

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Specializes in Med-Surg, HH, Tele, Geriatrics, Psych.

At the small hospital were I work, we very seldom go on diversion, even when we do not have the staff to care for them. The flu has hit our area big time, so that means more Iso. rooms, too, plus babies, children, all med, all surg, and remote tele. Day shift nurses are carrying 7-9 pts. each, and nights are carrying 9 + patients. CRAZY!!!!

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We never ever go on divert. No matter that we have no more beds to put the patients in and not enough nurses to care for them even if we had a place to put em. Can't let any of that green stuff go. It's all good though, because admin. will bring brownies, pizza, or something after a few days of running around non-stop completely terrified that we might kill someone. :angryfire

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PSYCH, PP, CEN.

The hospital I am on staff at is not allowed to go on diversion ever no matter how bad it is.

We did go once because a tornado went through and the roads to the hospital were covered with downed trees and the ambulances couldn't get through.

The hospital had crews out clearing the roads so we wouldn't be on diversion long.

After a couple of days of almost killing the staff we get donuts or pizza too for keeping everyone alive.

Kinda sad to think that the price for a life is a pizza.

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Specializes in ER.

If the ER can't go on divert, can the floors be required to follow the same policy? Take patients even when full, and move them to beds when they become free?

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Specializes in Tele, ED/Pediatrics, CCU/MICU.
If the ER can't go on divert, can the floors be required to follow the same policy? Take patients even when full, and move them to beds when they become free?

They are "discussing" this idea with the floors, but as you can imagine, it hasn't gone over well.

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Specializes in ITU/Emergency.

I find it interesting that ER's can go on divert in the US. We have no experience of this in the UK, unless its a major incident. What you get is what you get and the management just expect you to suck it up. Even when you have ambulances lining up outside, waiting an hour(or more!) to get in. In one of my hospitals, they went through this stage of opening a waiting area adjacent to the ER and used that as a 'holding bay' for patients on trolleys. Cleared out the chairs and lined them up. There were no call bells, no toilots, no curtains, no suction equipment, no crash cart, no drugs, no walled O2 and all sick patients: all staffed by one nurse pulled down from the floor looking like a deer caught in headlights. That is the one time common sense ruled when the nurse in charge of the department found out, she blew a casket and put her foot down with the management. It didnt happen again after that weekend but the management kept coming up with new and bright ideas where to hide patients. You have to give them credit though, they can get inventive. Like the time, they opened a closed peads ward for adults....only to find out all the beds were too short...heehee.......

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Specializes in ob/gyn med /surg.

our hospital cannot go on divert , what happens is the er gets backed up and at times they have 20 people waiting for med/surg tele beds, and they people just have to wait down in the er until we get a bed open. some people wait 2 or 3 days in the er for a bed. thats just how it goes.

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Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

I've been at my hospital for 15 months, and I've only heard of 1 time where we went on bypass....we were full with a 73 car pileup, and after we got 34 of the cases (including the people that were just coming to get checked out) management asked the paramedics to start taking em to the hospital 2.5 blocks away.....we were totally full, and the other was almost a ghost shell......

I WISH we could go on bypass this month, we've gotten a lot of medical admits and then we have to shuffle once the cases that HAVE to come to ortho come in......ARGGHHHHHH, hopefully the night will be calmer on Friday....

and I too second the opinion that PIZZA is a cheap price on life.....how about taking that pizza money and hiring an extra staff member? Or at least letting us get some extra overtime cash...."oh that's not in the budget..." but pizza is? Did I miss the meeting where the managers got zapped with the stupid ray? Cause I think I'd like to join the club...

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Specializes in CNA, Surgical, Pediatrics, SDS, ER.

Love that statement!!!!!!!

Did I miss the meeting where the managers got zapped with the stupid ray? Cause I think I'd like to join the club...

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Specializes in Medical Surgical.

We don't get pizza; we get baskets of candy. Too bad for the diabetic nurses, I guess. I hate seeing the candy; it is so condescending. Makes me want to stand up on my hind legs and go "Woof!" I'd almost rather the administration could legally get out the whips and chains than throw us these bones.

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

We can't go on divert, there isn't anyone to divert to!

Monday night we had 19 admitted patients in our rooms, (we only have 24 right now). No beds left anywhere in the hospital to put them. Had about 13 in the halls. Shoved stuff aside and put 4 beds in the storeroom, again. Had over 20 charts for the waiting room. The fast track unit was backed up and stayed open over 2 hours extra. I'm told between 40 and 45 people left without being seen that afternoon, leading into my night shift.

Night super said she'd had 20 sick calls for the next day before midnight (snow storm in the city, but not a blizzard and no roads shut :madface:).

They couldn't get any nurses to open the overflow unit with.

My feet hurt.

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