Patients who steal from the ER

[mdslabod]

gone

[Silicone]

Yeah, I see this a lot. There's a reason why we have very few pillows available on the L&D unit and it's not because someone forgot to order them.

Oh gross. I want nothing to do with a pillow someone else has used.

There's not a lot left that grosses me out but - ick ick ick.

Samantha, who takes her own pillow along on vacations

[lisawindow]

They use the speculum light to work on car engines, it's so small and bright they can squeeze it into tight spots! (Ours is stolen a lot too)

[Dorito, ASN, RN]

We've had patients take the crucifix off the wall, & clocks. I even found tapes on breast feeding (a male patients suitcase) as well as disposable CPR masks. It's amazing what some people will take!

[pipersjo, ADN, BSN, MSN]

We've had patients take the crucifix off the wall, & clocks. I even found tapes on breast feeding (a male patients suitcase) as well as disposable CPR masks. It's amazing what some people will take!

Our hospital got so fed up with having to replace the clocks on the wall, that they chained them to the wall. :chuckle

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

And how is people coming in and getting free health care a problem for you. And why is it a problem for you. This is a great country and everyone is entitled to health care regardless of their ability to pay for it. I cant see why this poses a problem for you.

Maybe the poster meant people who come across the border for care (such as people with leprosy which is endemic in Mexico) and then go back to their own country. This is a problem in NYC where illegals fly into the country for care and then return. And of course, California.

[Nurseboy1]

To the OP, sorry about the theft of your stethescope.

In my facility ALL the supplies are in the supply pyxsis, and only the nursing staff have access. They don't even allow the docs access. The only way a patient or visitor can get supplies is if the go in the soiled room or happen to catch the pyxsis when it has been accessed.

[ernurse728, LPN]

[i take it then that you have never worked in a hospital with a "linen conservation committee"? :chuckle don't laugh too hard, two of the hospitals i have worked in have them. apparently, facilities are getting pretty uptight about the number of linens that we [i]use[/i] in a day, let alone what is walking out the door. one surgical icu i worked (night weekends) in routinely ran out of sheets/pillowcases/blue pads on my shift. i'm not exactly sure what they thought we were going to do when the diarrhea started running, but we used to have to beg stuff from the or.

completely agree with you about the time issue, though.

as for people stealing from the er, see it all the time when i work there. once had a ff kidney stone pt come in with an attack. he had some sort of congenital malformation of his urinary tract and truly did battle with kidney stones every year or so. he stated that he felt like he had one, and though he had an appt with his urologist the next morning, he came to the er to have his ct done and "speed things along." he had the misfortune of getting our "no pain meds" doc, but the doc read his chart and gave him some phenergan/dilaudid and ordered his ct. pt was first upset because i 1)diluted the drugs and 2)pushed them too slow (as an aside, to those of you who have asked in other threads how to tell a drug seeker from a patient legitimetly in pain, this is a big clue -- now i never pretend to know what someone else's pain is -- if you tell me your head hurts, i believe you -- but to me, arguing with me to push your phenergan like i would push adenosine is a sign).

so anyway, his ct scan comes back clean. no stone in the works. (not to say he couldn't have been having pain anyway). he is really upset. i couldn't get rid of him at first. when he finally did leave, i go back in the room to see he went through the trash and took the used syringes i used to draw up the meds (no needles attached) and the half-empty phenergan vial. lesson learned: 1/2 empty vials now always go in the sharps container, even though they aren't sharp.

we also can't keep remote controls around. rx pads get stolen, too when one of the docs get careless (oh, but the rxs people write for themselves are so amusing!) those big ol' ob pads also tend to grow legs along with tubes of ky jelly. and i can't count how many patients have asked to keep their gowns ("they are so good to lie around the house and watch tv in")

i thought it was only our goofy linen room that was saying that we are using to many sheets. they actually had the nerve to say that we were " inappropriately using our linen supply" ....how can you inappropriately use sheets? :uhoh21:

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

I thought it was only our goofy linen room that was saying that we are using to many sheets. They actually had the nerve to say that we were " inappropriately using our linen supply" ....How can you inappropriately use sheets? :uhoh21:

Thats a sheety thing to say

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

How can you inappropriately use sheets?

Staff wrapping themselves up in them when they're cold.

(or that's what we were told when we got a butt chewing for it)

[lifsavER67]

The same week we moved into our new ER, we had a brand new magnifying light that had the wire cut and just the lighted, magnifier part stolen.

Also, we used to keep our crash carts in the trauma rooms, locked only with the little plastic tabs that break off. Those carts came out of those rooms fast when all the drugs were stolen...atropine, epi, everything on there was wiped out.

Someone must have just wandered in there, at that time we didn't use those rooms except for emergencies.

As far as half filled vials in the sharps box. I always draw the med out and waste what I don't need.

[purplescraps67]

We're not an ER, but I can tell you in our Doctors office if its not nailed down there's a high chance it will be taken..have seen everything from KYJelly to ottoscopes be missing when I go into a room to straighten up in between patients..and those ottoscopes are expensive!

It's sad, but we can't keep extra boxes of bandaids in our rooms because they disappear too quickly.

Jenny

[BabyRN2Be]

Oh gross. I want nothing to do with a pillow someone else has used.

There's not a lot left that grosses me out but - ick ick ick.

Samantha, who takes her own pillow along on vacations

Samantha, if I don't have to fly somewhere on vacation, I bring my own pillows from home, too! If If I ever have to be admitted to a hospital I'll have my hubby bring my pillow from home... working in L&D I see too many things happen to and on those pillows. I definintely know what you mean. I know that the pillows get cleaned but STILL... I'll bring my own, thank you very much! :)

Maybe we can stop this type of theft if someone makes a video of what happens to and on hospital equipment? Make it pretty graphic of someone pooping, peeing, bleeding, etc. on linens, pillows, blankets, etc. I wonder if that would keep theft down. Hmmmm.. Have pts watch it while they are waiting for a doc in ED! Bet that might make someone think twice before stealing linens 'n things. :)