We can't go on divert!

[RNcDreams]

Has your ER ever tried this?!

We are unable to take our divert time during the month of February (diversion = financial loss for the hospital, and they want to "ensure that patients who are followed at our hospital will be brought here, and that pt's from other hospitals will go there instead")

I'm in a smaller community ER (30 bed plus 3 or 4 wall beds) so we're not getting big traumas or anything, but the department has been inundated!!

It's a "trial" of no diversion, which hopefully will not extend past this month... but it's terrible

All beds full (including the Trauma room for the most critical patients), several chest pains, ICU holds, Fast track is full, Pedi is full, wall beds are full.... all beds WITHIN the hospital are full.... it's gross.

We were fully staffed with a float and an extra nurse to take a room from each assignment/take the wall bed people.... and it was still nutty!!

I left work in tears and woke up this morning with a lump in my throat and a stomach ache....

Thoughts?

[mmutk, BSN, RN, EMT-I]

We have a type of system in this area where it's more than just a plain ole divert.

1. "Advisory"- The ER is at capacity, so advise your patient they may experience long waits.

2."Diversion"- This is specific. i.e. Critical care diversion, or med-surg diversion, or adult ER diversion, or Trauma diversion. But not all of them, just what you don't have room for.

3."Full Diversion"- This is the whole ER.

However no matter what kind of diversion or advisory you have in this county if a patient requests to go to your ER against the paramedic's advise or diversion status, noone can refuse them.

[kylechris]

Our charge nurse called the house supervisor the other night to go on diversion but she said no AND that we would not be getting any beds for a while while the floors GOT A BREAK!!!!! I couldn't believe it! We have to keep taking patients while the floors get a break because the had recieved several new patients. Well guess what? Our doors are always open we can't turn anyone away, we don't get a choice. We only have 18 beds, we had every bed full with hallway patients, 17 in the waiting room and at least 2 ambos on the way!!! PULL MY AIR OUT:banghead: I wish the supervisors and the floor nurses could spend some time with us when it's like that to understand that when we do get a bed we NEED to send the patient up ASAP so we can take the next one in the waiting room/stretcher, we don't get to not take patients because of staffing...never ending.

[northshore08]

In my honest opinion, your ED medical director and other ED doctors need to go to administration. I've never been in a facility that allowed the nursing supervisor to make diversion decisions. I feel for you.

[Pat_Pat RN]

I'm in a smaller community ER (30 bed plus 3 or 4 wall beds) so we're not getting big traumas or anything, but the department has been inundated!!

Small?? Crack me up!

We have 7 beds in our ER. And we put 3 or 4 beds in the hall sometimes.

We're about 20 miles from the next closest hospital, and we DO get the "big traumas" and EVERYTHING!

I'm not bashing. It just cracks me up when I see people say "small", and have 5x the capacity that we do...