sharpie12

Absolutely agree with you KelRN215 and thanks for taking the time to respond (as well as everyone else who has responded). Patient did not have a DNR order in place. From what my friend told me, the nurse who attended as well as the manager who gave advice are quite junior in their roles. But, does that excuse them from their duty of care? My initial reaction would be to call an ambulance as is my best friends. My best friend is extremely upset about the situation, would an earlier response by the nurse who visited and their manager mean that the patient would still be alive today? That, we cannot be certain of, but there is a possibility that they may have still been alive..

Thanks for your reply JerseyBSN. The patient did not have a DNR order in place. I, like you, was also surprised hat the manager did not direct the nurse to call an ambulance, but instead organised for 2 nurses to go together at a later time.

Hi Union-Jack, Thanks for your reply, I am not asking you to judge the RN for the call which they made. I am just wanting to know what other people would do in this situation if they were confronted with it. I should have worded my initial post better.

Hi KelRN215. The nurse who visited the patient was familiar with the patient and has visited this patient many times in the past. The patient normally left the door open for the nurses and because the patient didnt answer the door they became concerned and entered the home on finding that the door was unlocked and found the patient with reduced GCS. My best friend told me the reason that the nurse left the premises was because they felt 'uncomfortable' - and my best friend did not know what that actually meant - I guess that would need to be further explored.

Yes, it has always been drilled into me that we never leave a patient in a scenario like this. And I am also surprised about the advice which was given by the manager.

Hi amoLucia, I do not think you should assume that because I am a first time poster on this forum, then that also means that I am new to nursing. When my best friend told me of this situation which occurred in his workplace, I was actually quite shocked with what he told me. My best friend is absolutely devastated that this patient had passed away and was questioning whether or not an earlier response by both the nurse who visited as well as the manager giving advice may have resulted in the patient still being alive today. And thus, the reason for my post - to see how others from a wide spectrum of levels of experience - would have reacted in the situation. From what my friend told me, the manager giving advice as well as the nurse who visited were quite junior, and inexperience may have largely contributed to this situation, it has made me question - where do we as nurses stand in respect to duty of care? Does being a junior nurse or manager with limited experience excuse them from their duty of care? And what would other nurses do in this situation? I know what I would have done in this situation as it has always been drilled into me that in these situations that you NEVER leave the patient and my immediate response would be to call an ambulance. I would have also expected the manager to tell the nurse to call an ambulance.

My response would be to call the ambulance STAT as time may be of the essence. And am just wanting to know what other people would do in this situation who come from a wide spectrum with different levels of experience.

Hi Wuzzie, Was just wanting everyone's opinions on what other people (opinions from a spectrum of different nurses with different levels of experience) would do in the situation and what our responsibilities would be relating to duty of care.

[The manager told the nurse that they would organize for another nurse to go along with them at a later time. Like after the patient died?] Sorry, what I meant by 'later time' was several hours later that day, as the first nurse did not feel comfortable. So the manager organised another nurse to go along with the first nurse. [The manager told them to call the patient on their phone, but there was no answer. Instead of telling them to call 911, the supervisor tell them to call the patient which has already been established that they can't speak. If the patient was in cardiac arrest, would the advice be the same, to call the patient?] I'm not sure why the manager made this decision because as you mention, this was already established when the first nurse visited. Patient found to have had multiple infarcts once admitted into hospital.

Hi, I work in a hospital and my best friend who works as a home visiting nurse was recently telling me about something he had heard about in his workplace. A nurse went to visit a patient at home and they did not answer their door, the door was unlocked so the nurse went in to check on them. The nurse found the patient lying there who was not able to respond in words. The nurse left the home because they did not feel comfortable in the situation and contacted their manager for advice. The manager told them to call the patient on their phone, but there was no answer. The manager told the nurse that they would organize for another nurse to go along with them at a later time. The 2 nurses went together to see the patient and called an ambulance. The patient died a few days later. What are your opinions on this situation? Thanks in advance.