I had a patient on aspiration precautions -- head of bed at 45 degrees, thickened liquids. A nurse reported me one shift for leaving thickened liquids for him at his bedside table while he was in bed at 45 degrees. There was no order for supervised meals or supervised sips. So, if there was no order for supervision, should I still not have done this? As long as he was sitting up and drinking thickened liquids, I thought he was fine to be unsupervised. Is it just a known thing that if there are aspiration precautions, that they are also supervised at all times for consumption?
Thanks!
