How do you handle late arrivals (pts)?

babs_rn · Sep 19, 2003

Is this Terri at Piedmont??

We don't allow it...the patient has a RESPONSIBILITY to arrive on time...they all signed papers attesting to that on admit and annually. If it's a problem with public transportation, that's one thing...but we don't cater to folks who just show up when they feel like it...they come off with the last patient who comes off ON TIME.

Barb

Diva · Sep 20, 2003

My unit has a cut-off time, which is one hour before the staff is scheduled to leave. All the patients are informed of this when they are admitted to the unit. The notice is also posted on the patients bulletin board.

If a patient is late, they will receive their treatment up until that time. This allows enough time for bleeding to stop, the staff to finish up paperwork, machine rinsing and disinfection.

The habitual late-comers complained at first, but now respect the boundaries that have been set for them.

ageless · Sep 25, 2003

How does that policy work when the patient is still SOB or their K+ is sky high at put on and its closing time?

Diva · Sep 26, 2003

If a patient is in distress they usually come in early...not late.

Our closing time is midnight and for a while it was not unusual for 4.5 hour patient to appear at 8 pm demanding their full treatment, when their scheduled time is 6 pm. Always the same patients and all different excuses. Cut off time is 11pm. We will schedule them the next day for the balance of their treatment. (the message then is: Come late, come back another day)

However, to answer your question we would never d/c the treatment early if the patient is in distress. Maybe we just have real compliant patient's, but we don't have many of those emergencies. Very few and far in between.

If an early shift patient comes in late the same policy applies unless we have empty chairs on the following shift. We will not delay a patient on the next shift to accommodate a late comer.

So far this has worked. There has to be respect on both sides.

mrdoc2005 · Oct 21, 2003

I would like to answer from the patient side of things.

My mother was a patient for 3 years. The clinic where she was at told her that if she was late on more time then they would not treat her.

SHe was only 1-10 mins late maybe once a month and her time was at 3.30 am. We lived in a rural area with a 50 min drive if the roads were clear (snow and ice).

I did not see the big problem with her be late since it was just a few mins every once in a while. And if when she was late they would not run the full treatment. So, by being late it did not effect the sched of everyone. So, what the harm in her being late since it did not put anyone behind and it was taken from her treatment time. Remember it was just for 10 mins max about 1 time a month.

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Oct 21, 2003

When our pts are late, even hours late, they usually get the full tx. We have one pt now who is on a five hr tx. He won't come in until 1300, even though it would not conflict with anything for him to come earlier, he just doesn't want to.

nursefiggy · Nov 7, 2003

We cut their time to their sheduled off time if their being late interferes with the next pt's on time. Unfortunately, we have pts that come in late knowing they can't run their full time. They are the ones that don't live very long.