My PT called 911

[joyful_wanderer]

Ok this is really just more of a vent... and maybe to see if any others have had this happen or something similar.

I had a patient two nights ago who was status dramaticus and after giving her narcotics and valium she was still demanding more medication (i'm used to that part) but she called 911 on her cell phone from her stretcher in the ER to complain that we were not treating her. To which I then had to explain to the dispatcher that emergency services were not needed all while my co-workers were coding a patient in the room next door.

I mean I guess its not the worse thing I have had a patient do... that would possibly be the time a patient threw a basin of vomit at me when I told her she wasn't getting any more pain meds...

Its been a rough two nights.

I love the ER.

[jaytee12003]

How about status bugging for the crack heads

One huge benefit of working in department encased in the steel and concrete of a modern seismically stable building... no cell coverage in the ED... the patient's access to a telephone goes right through the nurse. A call-light is a right, a phone is a privilege.

But yes, I've had several patients call 911 or the local cops.

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

yeah, pretty common in LTC. Usually the dispatcher is smart enough to check before sending out the troops, but occasionally not. We've had police, ambulance and fire a truck all show up for the awful emergency of Mrs Smith not getting her hot cup of coffee right away. Boy did they feel silly after running through the front door with all their equipment expecting the worst. Scared the heck out of staff too, as we had no idea she had called 911 until they showed up.

yeah, pretty common in LTC. Usually the dispatcher is smart enough to check before sending out the troops, but occasionally not. We've had police, ambulance and fire a truck all show up for the awful emergency of Mrs Smith not getting her hot cup of coffee right away. Boy did they feel silly after running through the front door with all their equipment expecting the worst. Scared the heck out of staff too, as we had no idea she had called 911 until they showed up.

I used to work in a small ER in a tiny hospital with a SNF attached to it. This reminds me of an event during which a staff member dialed 911 because a crotchety old resident was frustrated and threw his call light. We had 6 cops come sprinting in the door to the ED saying, "We were told that a patient was attacking the staff!! Where is it??"

As they were shaking their heads on the way out, I said, "Don't forget though, if *we* call you, *we're* serious."

Overreaction to the Nth degree by a cognitively limited nurse

[prettymica, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN, APRN, NP]

Yes, when I worked at a LTC a patient called from her room phone complaining of chest pain. Once EMS arrived she told them we wouldn't let her leg dangle off the bed, she had 4+ pitting edema, non compliance with dialysis and fluid restriction. One of the fire fighters snatched the phone and throw it across the room. Gave her a nice lecture.

My second patient was a 1013(involuntary) last week, called 911 from the hospital phone after I gave her the nice dose of ativan that she asked for! Thankfully they called the hospital before wasting a trip.

[grandpaj]

I've never had a patient actually call 911, but when I floated to a chronically understaffed floor a few months ago, a patient called the nurse's station to complain that his call light had been going off for several minutes with no answer.

[qaqueen]

When I worked nights at a geriatric hospital, 911 calls were frequently made for issues like "they are trying to kill me", "I am being held against my will" and the especially heinous "they wont give me a drink of water". This generally slowed down significantly during daylight hours :) Fortunately, as it was in a retirement community, the local police were well aware of the situation.

When I transferred to a hospital downtown, a 30-something patient threatened to call the police because he wasn't getting "enough" pain medication, to which I replied "can I hand you the phone?"

Some days you just have to go with it.

[amoLucia]

I've never had a patient actually call 911, but when I floated to a chronically understaffed floor a few months ago, a patient called the nurse's station to complain that his call light had been going off for several minutes with no answer.

This is a sneaky TRICK that some very wiley, smarty-pants pts know to do because it will get fast attention. Sometimes they will bypass the nsg station and go for an administrator or dept head; sometimes they will just stop at the switchboard operator.

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Oh we get that, threats to call the newspaper, the news station, the CEO, their lawyer, etc etc. When they do that I just hand them a phone book and say their number is on page 214

[Paws2people]

Many times we have had 1:1 or Saftey Care Assignments call 911. Sometimes they are just calling the front desk BUT think it's 911... Other times they actually manage to really call 911. We've only had the police physically come down once though.

[nurse2033, MSN, RN]

Sounds like a Drama Activation

[Blackcat99]

A patient at my LTC witnessed her roommate falling out of bed. She yelled out and put on her call bell but no one showed up(very short-staffed that night as usual). She then called 911 and got help for the resident on the floor.