Is this legal???

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Specializes in Psychiatric mental health.

The psych unit Im working in right now is a 30 bed adult inpatient floor. And at night, the staff consists of only 1 RN "who is also charge" and 2 techs, thats it. Well my question is, when there is an admission, the only RN leaves the unit to go do health screens on the new patient coming in. While the admissions room is close to the unit, during that whole time period, the 30 bed unit is left with only 2 techs supervising...which doesn't sound very safe to me at all, and I cant help but wonder if thats legal at all??? Do psych facilities have different regulations and rules than big hospitals? what if one of the patiens were coding or seizing?

FYI the techs they hire here are not required to be CNA licensed and I dont think their required to have a CPR licensce either

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Specializes in Peri-op/Sub-Acute ANP.

I don't know whether it is legal or not but regardless of the technical legalities of the situation, as a nurse I would not put myself in that position. That, my friend, is the bottom line!

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Specializes in Mostly geri :).

You worked too hard for your license to work in a place like that.:eek:That sounds like a recipe for disaster, I've worked a a psych tech, whenever we were short and something bad happened the nurse in charge got in trouble not us.

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Specializes in Flight, ER, Transport, ICU/Critical Care.

ILLEGAL is a sick bird.

What you describe is something else. Even though it may be "legal" it seems like a bad idea. A really bad idea.

Walk away. You might check the nurse statutes and reg's in your state - but as long as the employer finds someone to do the job and the state lets 'em - they will keep on, keeping on. That is until something really bad happens.

Make sure that really bad something that is near sure to happen does not involve you.

Practice SAFE!

;)

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Specializes in ..

What is the acutity of the unit? Is it attached to a major hospital or stand alone?

I've seen top level mental health, stand alone facilities of mid-level acutity (as in, the patients were there voluntarily and not actively dangerous in any significant way) where night shift consisted of one RN per floor of almost 20 patients and another for the ICU of 5 patients, plus the night supervisor and night float. I've never seen a problem as a result of this staffing level.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

Actually, it totally depends on the acuity of the unit. Where I work, 30 adult patients, one nurse and two techs does not sound unheard of at all. It's awfully hard work on the nurse, and not particularly safe as far as one nurse handing out meds to 30 adults (at least IMO), but a unit full of depressed 40 somethings, or trying to get off of drugs/alcohol.... what you are talking about doesn't really sound that unsafe unless one of those adults is either in DT's, or actively suicidal.

Now, when I worked at the state hospital, one nurse and two techs to 30 patients would have been VERY unsafe.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

Have you voiced your concerns with your supervisor? I would start there.

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Specializes in General adult inpatient psychiatry.

I work on a well staffed high patient turnover unit in a community hospital, with a capacity for 26 patients. On any given night there are at least 2 nurses and 2 mental health techs. At a different hospital I worked at, there was usually only 1 nurse and 2 techs overnight, so I can only assume that it's "legal", but I'm not sure how safe it is. If all the patients do is sleep most of the time, it can get boring with 2 nurses but when the ED keeps sending up admissions and transfers, I can't imagine only 1 nurse being on the shift.

Just my $0.02.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
FYI the techs they hire here are not required to be CNA licensed and I dont think their required to have a CPR licensce either

Mental health techs not being CNA licensed wouldn't make me nervous.

But mental health techs not being CPR licensed would make me VERY nervous.

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Specializes in Oncology.
... another for the ICU of 5 patients, plus the night supervisor and night float. I've never seen a problem as a result of this staffing level.

5 ICU patients to 1 RN? There's no way that's safe. I have an extremely difficult time believing there's never been a problem there.

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Specializes in Psychiatric mental health.

The facility Im working at is stand alone and not part of a Hospital. It is the main mental health facility in this county and surrounding counties, and we are known to get the most severe cases that the Hospitals cant handle. We also get a lot of transfers from other hospitals. The unit Im working at is for people with no insurance (so mainly homeless people), and also every other kind of people you can imagine. We often have to transfer patients out to hospitals due to chest pains/ heart attacks, so a lot of admissions and discharges.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

Hmmmm.... nope, doesn't sound safe to me. Not at all. Voice your concerns, and/or run far away.

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