sprocket

A very "ill" Patient goes missing from the ward, turns back up on the ward 90 mins later, despite security searches etc. not finding him. When asked why he had left and where he had been, he gave the following answer "Well, I had to see a man about a car. I bought it and parked it in the hosptial car park. I'll get free parking, won't I?"

An old man, found hiding his pills in his urinal bottle, was asked why he was doing that and not taking them. "Because the catholics are trying to murder me!" came the reply! I walked back into his room 20 mins later to find him happily sitting on his bed recieving holy communion from a catholic priest!

can't you try a toiletting regime with her? Might not work every time but may sometimes! What about rolling and changing her while she's still in bed? One things for certain, if you drag someone out of bed against their will, the law regards that as abuse...though with patients with demetia i can appeciate how hard/impossible it is to reason with them.

I think that as nurses, we have a fundamental role in helping the dying die with dinity. If the person in question was at the very last days (or hours) of life, with no hope what so ever of recovery, then PAS should be considered. In the medical profession it is the mantra "do no harm", and i think by un-necessarily prolonging life where no recovery is possible, we are infact harming the person and not helping them. However, how you determine which patients would be suitable and which not is a very grey and dodgy area!