Nursing intervention for schizophrenic patient having sex?

GilaRRT · Oct 22, 2009

Hu? In what context? Competent and consenting adults are fairly free to express their sexuality. Schizophrenia is a disease, like diabetes. Do we have a problem when two diabetics engage in sexual relations?

Clearly, additional information many change my response; however, it appears you are asking a question in a vacuum, therefore I can only answer as above.

blondy2061h, MSN, RN · Oct 22, 2009

***? Why would you see them, in the first place? If they're out in the middle of the public, call the police or something because that's public indecency. Otherwise, they're two consenting adults.

miss81, BSN, RN · Oct 22, 2009

Perhaps the OP means while admitted to the hospital. Like if you walked into a patients room on an inpatient psych unit and came upon two schizophrenic pts having sex?

safiyarozz · Oct 22, 2009

In an inpatient setting;it would depend on the circumstances.Are both parties consenting-adults that are considered to be competent?

dannyc12 · Oct 22, 2009

This happened at my facility and they put the lady on birth control. This is the usual response to this kind of consensual activity. Boy did that relationship end badly

The social workers bear the brunt of these episodes. On another occasion, activities staff went into a room and both beds were occupied with residents making the beast with two backs. SW had the fun job of informing the POA of one of them (who was also the significant other and not in the room at the time of the incident) that one of the participants had herself a new prescription.

Just one of those human responses to actual or potential health problems we deal with every day.

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Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Oct 22, 2009

It's not allowed in our inpatient facility, even if both are consenting adults. Neverminding that between the small units, design of the floor and q15 minute checks, they don't really have much opportunity to sneak off before staff realizes they were missing...unless they were pretty fast at it

We'd end up putting a stop to it...we'd likely transfer one of them to another unit for the rest of their stay.

elkpark · Oct 22, 2009

It's not allowed in our inpatient facility, even if both are consenting adults. Neverminding that between the small units, design of the floor and q15 minute checks, they don't really have much opportunity too sneak off before staff realizes they were missing...unless they were pretty fast at it
We'd end up putting a stop to it...we'd likely transfer one of them to another unit for the rest of their stay.

Ditto. It's not because we don't think they have the same right anyone else does to practice their sexuality -- it's just that it's not practical within our v. enclosed, restricted environment. Our perspective is that there are lots of things that it's legal and acceptable to do "on the outside" that you can't do in a hospital -- smoking, drinking, carrying weapons, etc. This is simply another of those things.

EarthChild1130 · Oct 23, 2009

Ditto elkpark! lol

diane227, LPN, RN · Oct 23, 2009

Patients with mental illness have the same rights as everyone else to have sex, it is just the location that is the issue. I have had all kinds of people have sex in the hospital and come to think of it, none were psychiatric patients. You just have to let people know it is not appropriate and ask them not to do it. In a psych unit there might be other restrictions, depending on how the unit it constructed.

I had a woman who had a stroke after her heart surgery who's husband would not leave her alone. I mean this woman was totally unable to move, had a foley and an Ng tube and he just would not leave her alone. He would be in here, have her off the side of the bed, going at it, pulling her foley out. I mean this got OLD after a while. They spoke no English. They were from Italy. But boy, when the supervisor got up there (this was my first year as a nurse) she slammed open that door and told him to get back on that chair, yelling at him. He did not understand English but he understood her. We had one patient that same year who was in the hospital for 6 months. This was in a time before home health and outpatient antibiotics. His wife would come and see him. They were a young couple and we would give them privacy. We would put a do not disturb sign on the door and everyone left them alone. She usually spent the night.

But then there was the prostitute who would come over to the county hospital where I worked (I worked in the ED) and she would take her clients in the stairwell to do the wild thing. We had to run her off a bunch of times. Her pimp would send her there because she could make more money there than on the streets. Never a dull moment.

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Oct 23, 2009

Will a person die if they don't have sex?

allnurses Guide · Oct 23, 2009

Patients with mental illness have the same rights as everyone else to have sex, it is just the location that is the issue. I have had all kinds of people have sex in the hospital and come to think of it, none were psychiatric patients. You just have to let people know it is not appropriate and ask them not to do it. In a psych unit there might be other restrictions, depending on how the unit it constructed.
I had a woman who had a stroke after her heart surgery who's husband would not leave her alone. I mean this woman was totally unable to move, had a foley and an Ng tube and he just would not leave her alone. He would be in here, have her off the side of the bed, going at it, pulling her foley out. I mean this got OLD after a while. They spoke no English. They were from Italy. But boy, when the supervisor got up there (this was my first year as a nurse) she slammed open that door and told him to get back on that chair, yelling at him. He did not understand English but he understood her. We had one patient that same year who was in the hospital for 6 months. This was in a time before home health and outpatient antibiotics. His wife would come and see him. They were a young couple and we would give them privacy. We would put a do not disturb sign on the door and everyone left them alone. She usually spent the night.
But then there was the prostitute who would come over to the county hospital where I worked (I worked in the ED) and she would take her clients in the stairwell to do the wild thing. We had to run her off a bunch of times. Her pimp would send her there because she could make more money there than on the streets. Never a dull moment.

You mean she cruised your ER looking for clients? Because those long waits can get boring after a while? :eek: