Inaccurate Vital Signs- no one cares

[ilovenursing2009]

hello everyone,

i work at a hospital on the medical floor that has vital sign machines that do not work. they consistently give inaccurate readings. i would do the bp manually but finding a cuff and one that has all the parts would be a miracle. we have several other thermometers that are not on the vital sign carts, but those don't work either. they give the same reading for all the patients. i have tried to tell management and show them how the temp says i have a 102 fever and a spo2 of 88 which i clearly do not and they still don't do anything about it.

this is very much concerning me. vital signs are so important...why should have to be telling management that.:angryfire i am trying to find information that will back my case such as a journal/code from the ana or the joint commission that would back me up, but i am having trouble finding any. i want them to replace these machines.

do you have anything which i could take to management that could help back up my case?

thank you so much.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Be careful with your own equipment. There are supposed to be records that the equipment used is being calibrated.

[1TachyRN, RN]

ilovenursing,

You mentioned JCAHO so you may have seen this before but I'll go ahead and post it anyways:

http://www.jointcommission.org/PatientSafety/NationalPatientSafetyGoals/

Patient Safety Goal 16: Improve recognition and response to changes in a patient's condition.

How are you supposed to monitor critical rises and drops in blood pressure, temperature, etc, if the equipment doesn't work?

Hope this helps you plead your case. : )

[abbaking]

Our unit has the most antiquated vital signs machines ever. Just the other day, i used the VS machine after it had been charging for 3 hours and after one use, it died on me. This was a breaking point. I filled out an equipment repair form and took the piece of dirt down to clinical engineering....I DOUBT IT WILL BE FIXED! We have had the same problem with this machine time and time again but nobody in management seems to care about find a solution.

MANAGEMENT IF YOUR LISTENING : RATHER THAN INVESTING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO PLANETREE AND CUSTOMER SERVICE - PURCHASE NEW PATIENT CARE EQUIPMENT!!!

THIS IS 2009 FOR PETE'S SAKE - SOME OF THESE MACHINES WERE MADE IN 1985!!!

[morte, LPN, LVN]

I worked on a couple of units that would supply the unit and then all the new equipment would disappear or suddenly be found in pieces. Often we would have to share or piece together equipment.

I bought and kept a spare manual BP cuff and thermometer in my locker. The one thing I refused to buy on my own was a pulse ox. Too expensive. It made me so mad that I'd have to go off on a hunt for working equipment when I had a crashing patient. We had to share a 12-lead EKG with two other tele units and one bladder scanner was used for the entire 200-bed facility. Talk about annoying!

I agree with the person who said to get the docs involved -- but first you might notify your Unit Manager because I'm pretty sure that's who doles out the money for stuff like that. If nothing happens, tell the Director of Nursing or the Director of Medicine.

to prevent the breaking/disappearance, someone needs to take responsiblity from shift to shif....hard to do, but make it like the old fashion narc count.....they have to be accounted for or that shift gets in trouble.....i know, childish perhaps...but the boss gets sick of replacing expensive machinery too.

[pkopp]

nothing like a little media attention to get the problem fixed... if the chain of command in the hospital doesn't respond- this is a HUGE, VERY SERIOUS ISSUE!!!!!!

[Roy Fokker, BSN, RN]

One would think that Vital Signs are called VITAL for a reason!!

Amazing. Simply amazing!

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

I believe that there were great responses from the participants in this thread regarding whom to contact. Most of them, however, seem like it may take a bit of time.

I would probably email and cc to the above mentioned powers that be, but in the meantime, use my own equipment. I can't speak for anyone else's facility, but I know for a fact for mine that the department responsible for calibrating the equipment just smacks a stamp and date, then, keeps it moving.

I advocate for using my own equipment because even though the correct department is supposed to take these items down to calibrate them, I don't know for sure what or how they do, but I can count on what I hear and see regarding vital signs. I'd rather be able to report what I actually, manually obtained than trust faulty equipment because at the end of the day, if it appeared in court, what do I then explain?

[1TachyRN, RN]

Stories like this make me so happy to work in a facility where accurate and up-to-date equipment isn't an issue.

[Medic/Nurse, BSN, RN]

Vital for a reason.

Lots of good advice.

I am sorry that you are working under those conditions. I'd like to tell you that the situation is unusual - but, I wonder.

1. Letter from the "group" to everyone.

2. Incident reports - take a stack. Inaccurate-broken-not in date with "biomed" gets written up

3. Take the broken stuff OOS - label it and tape it up - make it clear what is wrong the incident report # and physical services repair report #. DO NOT USE this equipment. Take it OFF YOUR UNIT per policy. Added bonus: Make them sign a receipt for it when "engineering/biomed" gets it - post receipt in nursing unit and copy to the top.

4. If you are left unable to get VS - or the VS do not "jive" (patients with temps generally have increased HR - low BP may have altered mental status - low temps may indicate advanced sepsis and need to reported AND DOCUMENTED to all MD's stat) note all actions taken in the PATIENT RECORD - call the MD's on every patient with a parameter that is questionable.

5. DO NOT use your stuff from home. Period. When the $@&+ hits the fan over this and it will - how will you prove that "your stuff" is accurate and since patients are treated on the basis of this info - this is a PROBLEM that you DO NOT WANT. Good intentions do not cancel liability.

6. Joint Commission and CMS can be contacted - JC will care - patient safety is at the forefront and CMS may care that treatment is based on assessment and the findings are suspect. CMS pays the bills - hmmmm.....wonder what that sepsis work-up (on the 95F temp) costs?

7. This one is BIG. Call the Board of Nursing. Careful that the nurses protect their licenses. Don't make things up - don't use stuff that does not work. Nothing to work with - don't clock in and accept patient assignment. Assessment is very important - vital signs are a part of assessment and on-going evaluation.

I looked back and you are a nursing student - report issues to the RN and ultimately it is their responsibility and license. Do the best you can and you are to commended for taking a stand for safe patient care.

Good Luck.

Practice SAFE.