Old IV tubing from HIV patient hooked up to a new patient!

[RNStudy]

Just curious,

If you new of a nurse who "accidently" hooked up old IV tubing that belonged to a prevoious patient who had AIDS, to a new patient thinking it was that patients IV tubing, what would you think of that nurse?

In my opinion, if you do such a thing as a nurse I would deem you UNSAFE and would NOT want you as my nurse.

Does anyone agree with me that the nurse should have been fired?

[mamamerlee, LPN]

Who left old IV tubing hanging around? And how can you prove it? This seems fishy.

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

Yes I would agree with you..that is awful!!!!!!....I always check twice and hook up once..kind if like that carpenters saying...measure twice and cut once

[FlyingScot, RN]

Nope. But the person who cleaned the room after the previous patient was discharged should be talked to. BTW your use of quotation marks around the word accidentally seems to imply that you think they did it on purpose. Is that really what you meant?

[RNStudy]

The patient was transferred from another hospital. The nurse ASSUMED the tubing in the room was also transferred with the patient.

It had actually been left behind by the prior patient who occupied the room.

[RNStudy]

Not only was it the previously nurses responsibility to throw away the old tubing, it was the new nurses responsibility to verify the patients tubing BEFORE connecting it to the patient.

WOULD YOU LIKE FOR ME TO CONNECT TUBING FROM A PATIENT WHO HAD HIV TO YOU AND THEN SAY ITS THE HOUSEKEEPERS FAULT?

I dont think so.

It was the nurse responsibility and an outlandish mistake

[Jules A, MSN]

Not only was it the previously nurses responsibility to throw away the old tubing, it was the new nurses responsibility to verify the patients tubing BEFORE connecting it to the patient.

WOULD YOU LIKE FOR ME TO CONNECT TUBING FROM A PATIENT WHO HAD HIV TO YOU AND THEN SAY ITS THE HOUSEKEEPERS FAULT?

I dont think so.

It was the nurse responsibility and an outlandish mistake

How long have you been a nurse? We all make mistakes and sadly some of mistakes are worse than others. I don't think anyone goes to work intending to do something that harms our patients and yet it happens every day.

[FlyingScot, RN]

No I don't think she should be fired. I think she should be buried up to her neck in sand and then stoned to death. She made a MISTAKE for God's sake! I bet she feels terrible about it. Was it stupid...of course it was. We, all of us, have made stupid mistakes in the course of our practice. If we all got fired for them then there wouldn't be any nurses anymore. Is she unsafe? I bet she'll never make this mistake again so I'd have to say no. Let it go.

[fiveofpeep]

Not only was it the previously nurses responsibility to throw away the old tubing, it was the new nurses responsibility to verify the patients tubing BEFORE connecting it to the patient.

WOULD YOU LIKE FOR ME TO CONNECT TUBING FROM A PATIENT WHO HAD HIV TO YOU AND THEN SAY ITS THE HOUSEKEEPERS FAULT?

I dont think so.

It was the nurse responsibility and an outlandish mistake

woah! hostile much?!

[Nurse80sbaby]

I read your othe post about how you got fired for attendance and you were mad cause this person didnt get fired for what they did. I think that what they did was bad and they should be disciplined but getting fired is up to management. You only want to see them punished because you think that your attendance issues was a minor thing compared to this one incident. You should suck it up and worry about yourself and stop being so SALTY. People make mistakes and no nurse is perfect. And trying to get someone else fired because you did is just dirty, Guess misery loves company.

[fiveofpeep]

Hmm I read your other post too here: https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/fired-but-asked-453870.html

I agree with the person above. It seems like you're just trying to detract from your own shortcomings.

[mustlovepoodles, RN]

Yes, that's a pretty bad mistake to make. You know what they say about assuming, right? Uh, don't do it. Now it's up to management to decide how to handle it. You can kick and scream about it all you want, but it's not your call and if you pursue this you will firmly establish yourself as a bad egg in your community. Tread carefully.