what is your overnight policy for family members in a double room?

[beeble]

The wife of a patient refused to leave the room and go to the family room. She was on her cell phone, talking to her husband and all lights on in a double room and refused to leave... What would you do?

[ehooper80]

Also, in the situation of your rude lady, our charge nurse or nurse manager would go talk to her. If that did not resolve the problem, security would be called to escort her out. Thankfully, the hospital does not give in to ridiculous demands of crazy people.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

Dang I am way out of the loop, I didn't even know people had to share rooms anymore. :|

[Bill E. Rubin]

I work on a surgery floor, and we don't have a policy that states whether or not family members can stay overnight- management leaves it up to our discretion. We do have a few private rooms, but the majority of our rooms are wards. It isn't unusual for us to allow family members to stay overnight with a patient- especially if the patient is confused, palliative, anxious, young, or if he/she doesn't speak English. If we know that a patient tends to have a family member to stay overnight (especially if they're palliative or don't speak English) we try our best to get them into a private room. If not, they're generally free to sleep in a chair/the family room if they're quiet and respectful.

In your case, where the family member was being neither quiet nor respectful, I would have done just as the other posters suggested: I would have asked him/her to leave, and if that failed I would have contacted security.

On my general medical unit, it works a bit like this. There is no official hospital policy, though it is our unit policy that visitors don't stay overnoc in doubles. However, we have some lattitude to allow exceptions if the other roommate is either ok with it or too out of it to notice and discretion can be maintained. The visitor may be a calming influence on a confused, agitated pt and can be an invaluable help in translating. Of course, if they are rude, loud or disrespectful either to the staff or to the roommate, they get the boot. It is rare that we have any visitors in this situation, but nice that exceptions can be made when they benefit all.

[RNforLongTime]

At my facility we do NOT allow any family to stay overnight in either the ICU or the Med-surg floor. ALL the rooms in med-surg are doubles. Only if a pt is actively dying or a minor are one family member allowed to stay 24-7.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

This wasn't a double room but this post reminded me of it, had a patient on Peds tonight (15) and he had family and friends visit all day, he was post appendectomy, anyway, family all left, dad was supposed to be back, kid seemed happy to finally get some rest and finally was ready for pain meds, he had been "tough" all day. But think he was ready for some and to go to bed. I am getting ready to leave, it's was 10 to 10 tonight, then we see about 6 adults and 3 kids with a lot of take out food heading into his room. We all looked at each other and apparently security told the nurse it was ONE person. Our Peds unit stays secure and people have buzzed in and out.

I felt bad for the kid, I am sure he would have rather been able to rest and why are you bringing kids to the hospital at 10 pm on a school night?? (these were elementary aged school kids). Apparently though their is no policy about.

[diane227, LPN, RN]

We allow family members to stay with any patient in a private room. In a semi private, they can stay if there is not another patient in the room. As the charge nurse, if I determine there is a strong need to have the family there with the patient (such as a hospice or comfort care patient) I have the option to block off the other bed and make it a single bed room.