GingerSue

How did this happen, and how can this be avoided - the man goes to emergency because of his leg, they bandage it and send him home? http://ca.news.yahoo.com/man-spends-weekend-hell-edmonton-hospital-015349349.html

"The Elizabeth Fry Society of Ottawa, a women's rights advocacy group, is also trying to help her reunite with her baby. They have offered to house Bilotta in their women's shelter and they have already helped her file complaints with the Ontario Ombudsman's Office and the Ontario College of Nurses". Hopefully they'll get to the facts of this situation.

In the past, I got my CPR from St. John's Ambulance two-day training sessions. Or, another time I got it through my employer - SRT Med-Staff arranged for training session for interested staff at their office (probably I paid a fee for this). You might be interested to check out SRT (it's an agency, so you indicate when you are available to work, and they were great to work for).

Is this nurse competent - if she/he told this pregnant woman that she's only having phantom labour, and given an antacid? Yet the woman (who happens to be in a jail) is pregnant, and has a breech delivery, after being put into segregation. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/investigation-opened-why-mom-julie-bilotta-ignored-during-171210759.html Humane treatment and competent nursing staff are still required. What about the infant's needs and rights? Did this nurse act professionally, responsibly, competently? And further into the article "Allan Manson, a law professor at Queen's University, told CBC News that an inmate could possible find the Canadian government liable for failing to provide adequate protection and care for inmates according to its own laws" There may be many problems with the jail system, but that does not excuse the nurse for being incompetent or inhumane.

Are there any nursing agencies in your area (check the yellow pages, or ask around)? Have you tried long-term care?

Important that this issue of privacy and confidentiality is, is it possible to consider that this nurse can learn to work according to the rules? And maybe consider that she would benefit by being given a warning, rather than termination? Maybe with some learning/testing about the issue of privacy/confidentiality?

Reminds of a local situation here where a nurse got fired for similar reasons - knowing one of the patients personally, the nurse got into her file and then told her own mother (acquaintance of the patient) about the patient's health problem. So the mother then phoned the patient to express her condolences or something. This upset the patient so much, because she had never told her acquaintance about her health problem (and why should she?). So, the patient told me about all this (in the neighbourhood) because she was so upset about this violation of her privacy. Anyway, the patient then told her doctor about the nurse's behaviour, and guess what - the doctor's office fired the nurse.

This nurse had been going into files of people with whom she had personal connections, not professional reasons, so they fired her. She knows that she isn't supposed to violate patients' right to confidentiality. So, I'm thinking that her employer was right to fire her. http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NL/ID/2260701808/

Some patients were not given sedation during their eye surgery as described in this link: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1222917--second-senior-says-she-had-cataract-surgery-without-sedation-at-oakville-trafalgar-hospital and so I wondered what people think of this?

Maybe family has to speak to a lawyer, to get things moving on this? Sounds like court decides. So, there must be a formal way that this is all arranged.

Thanks for the replies. So, when family has requested this kind of assessment, having spoken to the nursing staff about this request, because of concerns about the senior's ability to make decisions about their finances, etc., then does the family have to also speak to the doctor? Or just speak to the nurse?

When a senior client is in a senior's facility, and a family member requests that the client's competency will be assessed, who decides re: the client's level of competence to make their own decisions about things, such as their finances. Does the doctor have to do an assessment if a family member requests? Is it the court that decides re: the client's competence? (based on - the doctor's assessment? Or nursing assessment?)

Doctor in Montreal taking photos of naked female patients: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/montreal-doctor-suspended-fined-filming-naked-patients-hidden-20110215-153425-718.html

are there any nursing employment agencies that you could try?

Recently I've seen ads for nurses to work in Corrections - would that area be of interest to you?