Patient Complaints

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Aug 19, 2005

Maybe it's all in phrasing. When you say you're busy, someone might interpret that as "too busy for you".

Try "i can't right now, i'm with another pt. at the moment, but i will get back with you".

bulletproofbarb · Aug 19, 2005

Maybe it's all in phrasing. When you say you're busy, someone might interpret that as "too busy for you".
Try "i can't right now, i'm with another pt. at the moment, but i will get back with you".

good point. maybe it was interpreted wrong by her which in that case, fair enough but I'm still peeved that she lied ! :nono:

DusktilDawn · Aug 19, 2005

I usually say politely in situations similiar to yours, "As soon as I'm finished with what I'm doing I'll be right with you." No complaints so far. However, if there is a complaint, I can always use HIPPA as a defense. :)

BTW, the husband might have realized you were busy, however he may not have relayed that to his wife.

I also agree that there was no reason to lie.

gypsyatheart · Aug 19, 2005

I had a patient complain about me because I said "I can't read your notes right now I'm busy but will get back to you." (she stopped me whilst I was enetering another patients room, linen in one hand, bladder scanner in the other). Actually, she got her husband to write the letter whilst she was still an inpatient.
Anyway, I got back to the patient and told her what the doctor had written and she complained anyway!!! She didn't say I got back to her though, oh no, just that I said I couldn't read them because I was busy. So, it looks like I never got back to her.
Fair enough if she feels she needs to complain but at least tell the truth!!
I've seen and heard so many of these patients complain who blatantly lie. Exactly what is the point of lying? She obviously knows she has lied because she is unable to look me in the face when talking to me and has tried to avoid me when I pass her in the hall and she goes all red faced. I've not said anything about the complaint as it's hospital policy.
and I'm pretty pissed off, I'd have liked to say something to her but obviously can't.

I'm not exactly sure what the patient was asking you to do, but if she was up walking around and saw you going into another patients room w/your hands full, it must've been obvious along w/your comment that you would get back to her! Don't you just love these kind of patients, they obviously feel as if they are in a hotel and have a maid waiting on them. I would not worry too much about it, I would make sure I gave my manager, in writing, the real accounting of the situation.

Sorry you had to deal w/this, but it does happen from time to time. :)

SmilingBluEyes · Aug 19, 2005

I have found folks like this cannot be satisfied.

Cute_CNA, CNA · Aug 19, 2005

Annoying, isn't?

I think people like this just want to have their way, and when they don't get it, they try to retaliate through stupid things like lying.

bulletproofbarb · Aug 20, 2005

yes, annoying it is. It was one of those situations where nothing was right from the moment the pt was admitted. The doctor was on on holiday and so his cover was called in to operate and the pt was asking me about the doctor and I said he was "very good" and she responded with "well you would say that wouldn't you" and was REALLY sharp! He had told her she would be in for a couple of days "all going well" but she had some complications (minor) and then asked me why she wasn't better and I said something like "well, everyone recovers differently, it's an individual thing" but that answer wasn't good enough and she was getting all worked up saying things like "but have you ever seen someone like me before" to which again I answered people recover at their own rate, explained some take longer ect. Still wasn't good enough. Basically, she was trying to fish for actual examples and there is no way I'm telling a patient actual examples of another persons recovery. She wanted to be home for an event the next day and that particular night of the incident leading to the complaint, she was very worked up but sulky like a child (it struck me as very odd), and the husband seemed to do most of the talking.

She'd also been a bit snappy at me when she was going for her surgery as the doctor said it would be first thing in the morning and she didn't go till about 11am. She kept asking me "well why did he say first thing in the morning then" and got all stroppy. Like it was my fault.

Anyway, there were heaps of other things, but basically, after 3 days of having my head done in, I asked not to look after her. It was 3 days after that she put in the complaint. I told the manager all the above and also that I had requested not to look after her and the manager was happy with that.

In response to moondancer, the husband and wife both asked me what the plan was (this was one of their daily questions) and basically I said that we were continuing with the current treatment as the doctor said - he'd been in that morning and spoken to her. I knew that from handover. So they wanted me to see what the doctors plan was written as even though he had spoken to them and in fact, when I got back to them they said "yes we know that".