Slow nurse response time is a danger to pt health

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While my Granny was on the hospital I noticed that all if her nurses take nearly fifteen minutes to respond to any call. While sitting with her through the night she began violently vomiting. I pressed the call button, asked for her nurse and it was nearly an hour before she strolled around and asked if the vomiting had stopped.

Another example: at 20:00 she said a doctor had ordered antibiotics, a pain killer, and a bp medication. She gave the pain meds, and never administered the other drugs.

How do I go about getting another nurse? This is a serious danger to My granny's health, she'll die of a heartattack before the nurse gets around to giving bp meds.

Specializes in Critical Care.

I would have put the call light on again, called the operator to put me thru to the nurses station direct or even better walked right up to the nurse to get her attention if that much time went by before she came to check on her patient.

It's good you were there and nowadays having a patient advocate to stay over and speak up is a good thing and necessary at times. You can ask questions about why weren't certain meds given and you can always ask for another nurse, but who knows maybe it won't be necessary as nurses don't work 5 days a week. Talk to the nurse tonight if she's there to straighten things out. If that doesn't work you can ask for a different nurse.

I didn't read anything in the OP that was a "danger to pt health."

Specializes in ER, ICU.

What state are you in? I'll be right there...

Specializes in Infectious Disease, Neuro, Research.
While my Granny was on the hospital I noticed that all if her nurses take nearly fifteen minutes to respond to any call. While sitting with her through the night she began violently vomiting. I pressed the call button, asked for her nurse and it was nearly an hour before she strolled around and asked if the vomiting had stopped.

I've seen similar events. Sometimes the event is subjective, sometimes there is a lack of care. I don't know.

Another example: at 20:00 she said a doctor had ordered antibiotics, a pain killer, and a bp medication. She gave the pain meds, and never administered the other drugs.

Pain meds may have a lowering effect on BP. Without more info, my guess would be that her BP was on the low side, and the RN didn't want her bottoming out. If she was in pain,but her BP was on the low side, it would be common to hold the BP med and give the analgesic. Its a guess, but makes sense. Antibiotics, as previosly noted.

How do I go about getting another nurse? This is a serious danger to My granny's health, she'll die of a heartattack before the nurse gets around to giving bp meds.

What's her BP trend? What are the physcian's orders? What's her med list? What and why is she getting for pain? What's her fluid balance? Lot's more info in deciding to administer the med, other than, "its ordered."

Absolutely, keep on top of things. You also need to learn how and why things are done, if you're going to be an effective advocate. A little knowledge is a very dangerous thing.

Specializes in Psychiatry, Telemetry, Med/Surg.

I agree with Mama D. I had a pt. that started vomiting the other night. I went in and assessed immediately and then called the dr. It took 5 minutes for him to call me back and then 5 more minutes for him to put the order in for Zofran. It then took 20 minutes for the pharmacy to verify that order. There was a half hour right there. As I refreshed my PDA numerous times, the order finally came through and I was able to give the Zofran.

With all due respect, you are NOT a nurse (yes, I looked at your other posts---not even a nurses aide) and most certainly do not have the knowledge to evaluate what was going on that night. Others here have given you possible explanations for the issues you found so deplorable.

And if you were so concerned why didn't you bring up your concerns, right there and then? A few simple questions at the time might have addressed your worries.

Nope---instead you had to run to a public message board to condemn a "rotten" nurse.

And you just sat there for an hour while Granny "vomited violently"? Most people would have at least gone out to the nurses' station for help.

Nah....I don't buy it either.

The BP med and antibiotic were probably scheduled and not a PRN med (as needed). So the nurse would not be able to administer those meds until there scheduled time. 15 minutes is not bad response time. If you continue to have issues, ask to talk to the charge nurse and they will be able to help you.

If you're on a regular floor (ie not the ICU), you do realize your nurse probably has 5 other patients, in addition to your granny?

Yesterday I promised a warm blanket for one patient. Then the other patient decided to start pulling tubes and it took me almost 30 minutes to get the patient his blanket. And that's in the ICU with just 2 patients.

If you're on a regular floor (ie not the ICU), you do realize your nurse probably has 5 other patients, in addition to your granny?

At night that would be a low guesstimate. I'd bet AT LEAST 5 other patients.

Specializes in Critical Care.

Perhaps another patient was currently dying of a heart attack.

And I agree it doesn't seem like you're a nurse.

Is your granny at all confused? Does she have a medical background? Maybe you should go by what the doctor actually orders...he could have changed his mind or it could have been for another day, etc.

Specializes in ICU, Telemetry.

If her only issue was vomiting, check her out and take her home with a script for phergan, but the elderly rarely have just one problem.

She's throwing up -- why? DKA? Bowel obstruction? Flu? Allergic reaction to other med? Pancreatitis? One puke in and of itself doesn't tell me anything about what else she's got going on.

So, she's throwing up. You want her to be given pain medicine and her BP pills and pitch a fit about it to a new nurse who doesn't know better and gives it to your grandma to get you off her back. Now your awake grandma who can protect her airway is now unconscious because the BP med she didn't need and pain medicine have driven down her blood pressure to the point where her MAP's below 60 and she's not perfusing her eyes, her kidneys, her brain like she should -- and she can't protect her airway. She throws up again, and this time the acid in her stomach contents goes into her lungs and begins to dissolve them. She gets aspiration pneumonia, now she's on the vent in ICU, her lungs are full of acidic junk that's growing bacteria and she goes septic and passes away. I have seen people die because someone in their family pitched a fit about something and a nurse gave a med and the patient ultimately didn't do well.

Now are you sure you want that pain medicine and BP medicine?

Specializes in Trauma Surgical ICU.

OP, please listen to the others.. There maybe more you do not know or understand.. You can always respectfully ask anything you don't understand..

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