Outrageous Complaints

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I swear, sometimes it seems I can not get through a shift without a patient or visitor complaining about something. From pain meds, to food quality to wait times, nurses hear it all! However, this past week, I had a couple strange complaints...

1) Visitor (patient's aunt) was mad that we did not have a blow dryer available to borrow.

2) Patient stated he did not like the way the sun came through his window.

3) Parent did not like that we carried Powerade, wanted staff to "go across street" to buy him Gatorade.

What are some of the stranger (outrageous) complaints you've heard?

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Visitor asked nursing staff to bring his car around. Ummmm....no? Not a complaint, but a pretty outrageous request.

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Between the call bells going off all the time and the visitors, I had enough in my first job. I applied for OR- a place with neither visitors or call bells.

I never got accepted, but ICU at least puts some limits of visitors.

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Specializes in Travel, Home Health, Med-Surg.

Visitors wanting to "order food" for themselves from the kitchen.

Patient wanted staff to do his (personal) laundry.

Patient wanted staff to go to his house and check in the cat.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

As pt being admitted into the ICU, daughter telling me she wants him to be fed all-natural/organic/whole foods. Umm.... we have *hospital food*.

I told her we have the typical hospital food, but she's welcome to bring him something from home.

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

elderly entitlement: man with mult old injuries to wrist, overdid the yard work, and was incensed we did not see him "in 15 minutes" for the "10/10 pain in wrist (middle of the night). Granted, there was no one else in the lobby at the time, because we had just taken everyone else back, it was full, I'd just pulled a nonresponsive ETOH/pill overdose out of a car (intubation going on).

When I harrassed my charge to give me a room even if the nurse wasn't ready (in the less heavy zone), to let him wait while the admit got finished; less than 40 minutes from the time he hit my front door, he stated if the doctor wouldn't see him immediately in the room he was leaving! I explained he would be seen, but I had no control over the doctor's movements, there were two new ambulances and an intubation going on. He and wife stormed out, with a few more details that would identify him so can't tell you the rest!

(nearest other hospital, 60 miles away in another city)

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We had a patient who refused a bath all day and then was POed when we wouldn't give him a bath while we were coding another patient -.-

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No window in her room. I could see this if she was going to be there for any length of time, but this was same day surgery. She was expected to DC in a few hours. But she made such a fuss that we had to transfer her to an inpatient room with a window. I imagine she left 1-2 hrs after that.

My eyes spasmed from trying not to let them roll back.

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Patient wanted to know if we had a hot tub they could use.

Patient asked if I would go to a specific fast food restaurant and get a milkshake for them. (There is no fast food remotely near our hospital.)

Patient was upset that I wouldn't feed them because their "hands didn't work well." Left the room, came back a short time later, and the meal was completely gone.

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Specializes in Oncology.
Visitors wanting to "order food" for themselves from the kitchen.

Patient wanted staff to do his (personal) laundry.

Patient wanted staff to go to his house and check in the cat.

My hospital does let visitors order food for themselves, they just have to pay for it. I don't think that's too uncommon. I've done laundry for patients there for extended periods of time. If I were stuck in the hospital I'd be worried about my cat.

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This is why staff are so quickly burned out at the bedside....

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Visitors wanting to "order food" for themselves from the kitchen.

Patient wanted staff to do his (personal) laundry.

Patient wanted staff to go to his house and check in the cat.

I would have tried very hard to make sure the cat was Ok!! ;)

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