Policies for Active drug users on inpatient unit

[vegas2sfbay04]

Hi all, I work on a 56 bed telemetry/step-down unit. We have had several incidents recently where patients have done heroin in their rooms. One had a visitor that required narcan because he became unresponsive. Could anyone share their hospital policy on these types of patients? Does anyone have best practices that help in the management of these patients? Restricting visitors? 1:1 sitters? Thanks!

[Atl-Murse]

I would advocate the policy of nurses refusing to take on the job of moral police.

[vegas2sfbay04]

I'm not trying to police morality, I'm trying to keep patients, visitors, and staff safe.

[smf0903]

I would advocate the policy of nurses refusing to take on the job of moral police.

It'a not an issue of being the "moral police", it's a matter of getting in front of an issue so that you don't walk in on a dead patient who's under your care.

We started doing patient searches on admission. We had quite a few ODs in rooms (med-surg/tele floor) with a couple of close calls on patients who had refused tele and we found them unresponsive and grey. We've narcanned quite a few times in the last 6 months or so. Repeat patients who have had issues in the past are put by the nurses' station (some patients have had family being in heroin and such) so that it's easier to keep an eye on them. Sometimes we end up putting sitters in the room, it just depends.

[JadedCPN, BSN, RN]

I would advocate the policy of nurses refusing to take on the job of moral police.

Maybe I'm missing something, but what in the world does this have to do with moral police?! It's about patient safety which is one of the number one jobs and priorities as a nurse.

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

In my old hospital, we put patients like this on a telesitter.

If you don't have telesitters, I think a 1 to 1 is called for.