On two occasions we have had "helpless" visitors come to our floor. What do you do in these situations.
1. An older wheelchair boud lady was brought by her son to visit a patient and essentially abandoned. It was in the evening and she kept saying he was supposed to come back and get her. She was incontinent at times and needed assistnace to transfer to the toilet when she wasnt having incontinent episodes. Our asst nurse manager was able to contact appropriate family the next day to come and get her if I recall...but for that night a tech assisted her.
2. A morbidly obese woman...over 400lbs came to visit her mother. It started with the ER calling our floor and asking if someone would wheel her from there to our floor because she wasn't able. We did not and security brought her to the room. At some point the woman needed tp use the bathroom and could not get up. Eventually security + 3 staff got her on a bariatric bedside commode and back into a wheelchair with much difficulty. Our night supervisor warned after this incident that if injured the staff wouldn't get workers comp and also assisting someone is entering into a contract with them and we could be liable for injuries.
My question for the 2nd one is how did this lady even get from her house to a car to the hospital and in a wheelchair anyway. Of course no one asked. And for both we are busy as it is without having essentially another patient needing full assistance but these people were helped as not to be cold.
