Not every family who visits is there to be supportive of the patient. Some of them are even downright unsupportive. Here are some of the worst visitors I've ever seen -- how about you?
There was the woman who'd had an aortic dissection repair, and things didn't go well. She had a perioperitive MI, a CVA and sepsis. All told, she was a patient in our ICU for six months. I didn't hear much about the patient's life from HER; she was confused and mostly nonverbal.
Her sister, however, sat at her bedside for hours and wanted to chat with the nurse. The sister, Katie, was a nice person and since I had just moved to the area, gave me a lot of tips about restaurants to try, where NOT to get your car repaired, and the like.
The HUSBAND, Milton, rarely showed up and when he did, he was the type of man who bellowed about "his rights" rather than understanding that when the patient is in CT (or having a line placed), the patient is unavailable for visitors, even of the spousal nature.
Katie put up pictures in the patient's room -- a smiling picture of her and her sister together, and multiple pictures of the patient's beloved dogs. "They're just like her children," Katie explained. "Milton never wanted children." Tellingly, there were no picture of Milton in the room.
He and Katie barely spoke and Katie told us that when Milton married her sister, he quit working and expected that she would support him, do all the cooking and cleaning and take care of his mother as well. As for the patient, she lit up whenever Katie arrived, but shut down whenever Milton did.
One weekend afternoon, Milton showed up just as I was helping the patient's nurse finish a bath and linen change. Without waiting for the two of us to finish up or get the dirty linen out of the way, Milton leaned over the bed and whispered (loudly enough for the patient and both of the nurses in the room to hear) "I killed your dogs. I said I would do it, and I did." That man has to take the prize for being ONE of the worst hospital visitors I've ever seen.
Years ago, when I worked in CCU, a 58 year old woman was admitted in cardiogenic shock. We placed a balloon pump, lined her, gave her multiple doses of morphine and finally, scheduled surgery for the following day. (The surgeon wanted to do it immediately, but there was already an emergency surgery in progress and the on call OR team were already in that OR.)
At six the next morning, I'm filling out the pre-op check list and a woman breezes in with two toddlers in tow. As I tried to explain to her that visitors under sixteen weren't allowed in the CCU, she told me that she had "just come to drop off her kids for their granny to watch."
Then there was the visitor who injected the patient with some street drug, right through the conveniently placed central line, because "Y'all don't give him none of the good stuff in here."
My co-workers walked into a patients room one day to find a son strangling his elderly mother (patient) with the oxygen tubing!! Yes the police were called.
We were just talking about this at work the other night. Not a patient/visitor of mine but was told about by a coworker. A patient's boyfriend and patient doing the nasty. It really WAS the nasty, though. The pt. was in the hospital for an I&D of an MRSA abscess on her lady bits. All I could think of was "Eeeewww!" and "Owwwww!".
There are multiple people who "take in the relatives" in order to collect social security checks. They do NOT want patient placed in LTC because then they wouldn't get the monthly money. Most are beyond filthy, and more than one instance we have had to cut hair to get the matting and bugs out. There is at least one "family member" who to this day--10+ years later and around 2-3 other relatives later who refer to that "awful CNA who cut off all Mom's hair!!" SERIOUSLY?
Then the relatives who drop Mom and Dad off at the ED because of "dehydration" or "nausea" and are on the next plane to disney--literally a "we can't come pick them up, they have to be admitted". And are back long before arrangements can be made to transfer to LTC.
And finally, the "friend" who befriends the elderly people who have no spouse, no relatives, no one--except for THEM--they come out when the patient is close to death, talking about the "will" and what they are "promised" to receive upon the patient's death, because "no one cared for them but me" and these are the patients who have money stashed in the mattress types--and usually property, jewery, the whole 9.
The worst patient I ever had was an older woman (50) having sex in a semi-private room. (with her 30 year old son.) Needless to say, everybody got called into that situation, SW, APS, nurse manager, risk management.( The roommate got moved to another room.)
I am dumbfounded that management would allow any of this bad behavior by visitors I just read about a caregiver union 90,000strong that is about to change the way hospital management caters to any kind of behavior by unruly patients and visitors
and that is what is needed all caregiver staff need a voice to protect them against such nonsense
management leads the public to believe they care about patient care when in reality ALL they care about is
Needless to say, everybody got called into that situation, SW, APS, nurse manager, risk management.( The roommate got moved to another room.)
sissiesmama, ASN, RN
1,899 Posts
Crap! That's nuts!!
Anne, RNC