Recently a close relative of mine was admitted to the hospital for surgery. Post-operatively she had quite a bit of pain and had one day in particular in which the pain was uncontrolled for her. Her nurse came in and suggested a shot of IV Ativan that was on her order set as standard protocol by her physician for anxiety or insomnia. The nurse strongly encouraged her to try the Ativan and stated that she would be getting no more pain medication per the doctor's new orders. My relative refused the Ativan because she felt like it was an absolute pain control issue and not one of anxiety. After a short time the nurse came back in and gave my relative something in her IV stating, "This will make you feel much better". She asked what it was and to her horror the nurse said, " I went ahead and gave you the Ativan because I think you needed it. You are very anxious".
To make matters worse, (this was a 12 day hospital stay) we found out after a nurse friend assumed care the next day that the IV pain meds had not been discontinued and the nurses has only told her that to keep her from asking for it. This was an abdominal surgery that was laproscopic but extensive and the surgeon had to deal with a lot of complications during the surgery that included a lot of manipulation becaude of severe scarring from previous surgeries. He explained that pain would absolutely be an issue and he covered this by ordering Dilaudid 1 mg every 2 hours as needed for pain. I believe that the nurses became tired of giving this medication and when he felt a PCA pump would not be appropriate for my relative (she became oversedated before) this was the way they handled it. They lied to her and led her to believe that she had no medication for pain and gave her the Ativan as a way to try to sedate her.
The timing of this entire event coincided with the surgeon being out of town for several days so he was not there to witness this. When it was addressed upon his return he sent in the nurse manager and a patient representative. He also consulted a pain management doctor to help get her pain under control. We are frustrated because we feel the hospital has not taken appropriate action to resolve this matter. No one has contacted my relative to discuss this and she has such a fear now that she has cancelled 2 surgeries and several minor procedures that she needs to have. She has admitted that she has had nightmares about this incident and feels like she can no longer trust anyone that she encounters in a hospital setting. I am unsure what to do to help her. I would never dream of giving someone a medication that they clearly refuse. I have encouraged her to contact an attorney at the very least. I am wondering if anyone has any advice as to how I can help her handle this. I have been a nurse for 8 years but I am at a loss as to what to do. I think the hospital is avoiding her and I think they need to address this issue and do something about it. I have thought about reporting the nurse to the nursing board but I don't necessarily want to cost someone their job. I think at the very least the staff should be reprimanded and re-educated about pain and patient rights. I know this has not been done because I have a close friend who works on that same floor.
