Unfortunately there has been a suicide on my unit where I work. I work at an adult Mental Health unit... i was one of the nurses taking care of this patient, I was not working the shift that she did this. I am distraught.. this lady was not one of our "typical" mental health patients.... No one ever suspected her of this......... A code blue was called and they revived her but unfortuntaly she is brain dead and its only a matter of time until they unplug her. She has no family or friends.
Has any one else been in this kind of situation??????
has any one else been in this kind of situation??????
a patient was missing from 12am to 4am (do not ask who was supposed to be doing vitals and labs at this time).
found in a closet on a closed wing. got butt booty naked and pulled out some kind of arterial line?/central line? and bleed to death. it looked like someone had slaughtered a hog there was so much blood pooled on the floor.
then another time a family member had blew his brains out in the parking deck.
Sorry it had to happen, but unfortunately, it will happen to many of us at some time in our working life.
I'm not sure about where you are in Canada, but if your patient's a ward of the province, it may not be as quick as you think for the "plug to be pulled". The Province goes above and beyond what the family would in cases like this. Provincial wards are kept full code, given any and all surgeries, and hang on forever, just in case the family ever does surface and want to lay blame.
All you can do is not blame yourself for your patient's choice however misguided.
I can understand that sick-to-your-stomach kind of feeling because I have dealt with this situation. My patient took her life during the night. She had opted out of nightly room checks, which is not uncommon in our facility, an assisted living. So we found her on my shift. I can never ever forget the scene, it was terrible and very unexpected. I had a hard time dealing with it, bc I really loved this little lady. My heart goes out to anyone who has experienced this,...
My own mother OD'd in a rehab on prozac the first night she was there. She was transferred from a mental facility after trying to kill herself.
I will never understand. My mother was a suicide risk and should have been 1:1 and certainly should not have gotten a hold of a bottle of prozac.
This was someone's fault. There was a big breakdown here.
I'm not saying your incident is anyones fault.
I had a patient admitted to my ICU from the ER. He OD's on his Beta Blockers. When they asked him the simple question of "would you do it again" he said no. So they ordered him no 1:1. I assessed him. I asked him why he would never do this again. He said "too much trouble". Good assessment in the ER people. I called the nursing supervisor immediately and told them I don't care if you can't find any staff (initial excuse) find me a 1:1 else I am refusing this assignment. They found me one and actually agreed.
How'd they commit suicide? If anything, learn from this. Probably needs a root cause analysis done. I remember my first job in the ER when a suicidal patient came in. They were a one to one and seemed to be okay and the sitter stepped away for less than a minute, and in that time the patient had hanged themselves with the curtain. After that, all curtains were removed by housekeeping when a suicidal patient was placed in a treatment room.
I am also curious as to how they did it. I assume that since it is a mental health facility that more precautions are taken than most facilities to prevent suicides. I suppose it is a "if there is a will, there is a way" type situations.
Sorry you are having a hard time dealing with this. Like everything use it as a learning experience and take something away from it so that maybe they at least didn't die in vain.
I remember my first job in the ER when a suicidal patient came in. They were a one to one and seemed to be okay and the sitter stepped away for less than a minute, and in that time the patient had hanged themselves with the curtain. After that, all curtains were removed by housekeeping when a suicidal patient was placed in a treatment room.
i'm curious, who are these "sitters"?
are they volunteers? cna's? nurses?
i believe that sitters should have some sort of qualifications to working/sitting with suicidal pts.
also, if they're going to step away (for even "less than a minute" (i am skeptical of the time s/he was away), shouldn't s/he let staff know, so pt can still be watched?
stories such as this, enable me (and others?) to see how some pts can deceive those involved.
Specializes in Med-Surg/Neuro/Oncology floor nursing..
I am also curious as to how they did it. I assume that since it is a mental health facility that more precautions are taken than most facilities to prevent suicides. I suppose it is a "if there is a will, there is a way" type situations..
It is sad but true. If someone really wants to take their life they WILL find a way. We one time had a 23 year hoard his medication(he was in for an extended stay after a really bad car accident, he had a slipped disc in his neck, fractured vertebrae in his back amongst other thing). Every time a nurse would bring him medication the would the nurse would stay and watch him take his medication(the PO's, he was getting IV pain medication), but somehow he wouldn't swallow it I guess(Hiding it somewhere in his mouth I guess)..He was getting muscle relaxers, benzos, a long acting opiate and whatever he was taking at home on a regular basis, I don't know what he was taking at home he wasn't my patient). After being in the hospital for a while, he took all the PO's he was saving at one time(we can only guess, no one really knows what happened). He was revived, but now he has extensive brain damage and is pretty much a vegetable(they did a tox screen and he tested positive for large amounts of these medications he was getting..I remember one of the nurses told me he wasn't in pain management or anything, so he didn't have a high tolerance for much of anything). I remember the day this all happened, it was a very sad day at the hospital. The car accident was shady too, he drove off a cliff(survived) I remember he had a psych consult and the cleared him(so I guess he did a pretty good job at manipulating the psychiatrist because he was NOT on a one to one).
My heart breaks for his family because he was a young man. I still can't walk past his room(he was on my floor at the time, first in the critical care unit then he moved med-surg(he was there for a while), now sadly he is back in critical care) without thinking about what happened and how he is still in the hospital as a vegetable. The family just can't let go. If only they put him on one to one(but it's too late to say I should/shouldn't have).
NellieOlsen
122 Posts
Never been through something like that. I'm very sorry for you and your co-workers. I agree that seeking help from your EAP might help. Take care.