I had this really nice 40 something year old patient who was admitted for a cardiolite stress test. He was completely independant, walked to the bathroom by himself and really didn't need any assistance. I would check on him periodically and told him to let me know if he needed anything.
Then his wife comes in and first thing she says when I meet her is why we have a sign posted at the bedside that says we are going to check on the patient every hour and toilet them and assess needs, if I am not really doing what the sign says. She was very fixated on that. Meanwhile the patient was very nice and never had any complaints and even agreed with his friend who had been in our hospital, that we gave great care. However, he must have been afraid of his wife because he did not stand up for me at all.
Then his wife wrote a letter and complained about me. Please tell me people have better things to do with themselves. Yes, I should have checked on the patient every hour like the sign said to do, but sometimes that is really not possible and I didn't neglect him since he was capable of toileting and doing everything himself. Some family members really need to look at themselves and evaluate what is wrong with them instead of picking on others.
