What would you have done?

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Specializes in Oncology RN.

The other night, we had a patient come in with GI bleed suspect. NG tube and gastric lavage ordered. I work in an inner city hospital, so we see a lot of, uh, uneducated people.

So, we ask the family to step out of the room so we can do the NG tube and lavage. Some left, some didn't. Our patient rooms are private, so the remaining family stepped over to the family side of the room. I pulled the curtain closed for patient privacy, they pulled it open. I closed it again. We went about putting in the NG tube. I must say that we did everything by the book (there were three of us nurses in there). Next thing we know, the daughter of this patient is standing at the foot of the bed taking pictures with her cell phone.

We were totally confident in the care we gave, so we don't feel as though we have anything to hide. However, it was a bit unnerving. As good as you would like to believe that everyone has good intentions, there are people out there who will sue to make money rather than go out and get a real job. We didn't call the daughter on it, but we did call the nursing supervisor, and the patient's doctor. The nurse jurist was also called. We were told that taking pictures of your family in a hospital is something that is still being debated in Congress, so we are still not certain if any legalities have been crossed. However, we were told that if the daughter (which really has nothing to do with her mother outside the hospital) persues legal action of any sort, we can file a countersuit because she took our picture (the nurses) without our

consent and knowledge (we didn't know she was snapping pictures until we were done).

So, has anyone ever had anything like this happen to them? What did you do when it happened? What came out of the whole situation??

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I hate it that lawyers and suit-happy idiots hold us all hostage. :o

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Is it possible that it was just a big family, concerned for their family member, and maybe a family member couldn't be there and they were just sending pics through the phone? I have a big family, and when one of us are sick, we all swarm in, and as I nurse I know how aggravating this can be, but as a family member, I'm gonna watch everything that doctor and nurse does to make sure they are providing good quality care. I'm sure your confident in your skills, but that family member at that particular time is more worried about their loved ones.

I work in LTC, don't have to deal w/ too many family members all at once

But being on the other side and worrying about a family member, I hate being told to step out of the room

And just because they want to stay in the room doesn't make them uneducated, it makes them concerned.

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Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Education.

My ED ran into this same problem...

The decision was made to fall back our policy that cell phones should be turned off in the patient treatment areas.

It is my practice to ask the patient if he/she wants a family member present during a procedure such as NGT placement. If they want privacy, then the family can be escorted from the room and/or have the curtain closed due to patient wishes. Some patients, however, want someone with them. In this case, there would be no grounds for suit if you followed (and I'm sure you did) your facility's policy on using NGTs.

Anyway, our risk management team is still looking into this also...

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Geriatrics, Call Center RN.

That is a very scary situation. It is sad that we have to second guess others intentions. But yo udo have to think about what others are up to. I think as long as you and your co-workers are working within your realm of training, and within hospital policy, you should have nothing to worry about. I hope this is something that you can put in your past and forget about.

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Specializes in Oncology RN.
Is it possible that it was just a big family, concerned for their family member, and maybe a family member couldn't be there and they were just sending pics through the phone? I have a big family, and when one of us are sick, we all swarm in, and as I nurse I know how aggravating this can be, but as a family member, I'm gonna watch everything that doctor and nurse does to make sure they are providing good quality care. I'm sure your confident in your skills, but that family member at that particular time is more worried about their loved ones.

I work in LTC, don't have to deal w/ too many family members all at once

But being on the other side and worrying about a family member, I hate being told to step out of the room And just because they want to stay in the room doesn't make them uneducated, it makes them concerned.

I have to disagree with this post. This mother is left in the care of an unrelated caregiver, her family has little to do with her...but when she is brought into the hospital, the whole family comes in droves. I can understand wanting to send pics of Mom to family...but really...pics of Mom getting an NG tube stuck in her nose?? Pics of Mom barfing? Lets take pics of what's coming out of the NG when we do the lavage?! Get real.

I don't have a problem with concerned family, nor did we take issue with the fact that some wanted to stay in the room (the grandaughter stayed at the bedside and held her hand which helped us out immensely). We do take issue that some people come into the hospital looking for something wrong while their lawyer is on speed dial. Had you been their and fielded some of the questions they asked, you would definitely see them as uneducated inner city folk. Especially when they can't even spell their own mother's name right.

I used to work in LTC. There is a HUGE difference in working LTC and a Level 1 Trauma Center. In LTC, you know the patients and their family members better and on a more personal level. In a large hospital, you don't know who these people are, and when they wing out a camera anytime you touch their family member, you can't help but feel (as a previous poster mentioned) as you are being held hostage.

I've been off for a day, so it will be interesting to see the developments when I return tonight.

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

Our hospital policy is no cameras allowed in patient areas. Privacy issues, HIPAA, and all that.

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Yep, those NGT insertions and gastric lavages sure make nice photos for the family album. :uhoh21: That's incredible. :angryfire

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I always like to look for the best in people, but sometimes it's hard. I've seen some family members cause incredible problems. There is a patient at my hospital (who desperately needs surgery) that no surgeon will touch because the patient's spouse has already tried suing another doctor. What a shame. The patient is really nice, but the wife is a real psycho. It's so sad when family members come in not to see the patient, but to document what was and was not done, what was said, etc. What an interesting world we live in.

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Specializes in MS Home Health.

A new twist of technology. I would have asked them to put away the phone due to confidentiality..................sheesh.

renerian :rolleyes:

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Maybe they felt they were being "shut out" by having the curtains closed. That was just their way of "getting back" at the staff by making yall worry. Anyway, we have a visitor policy - no more than 2 visitors in the room at any time (unless the patient is immediately fixing to die). The nursing supervisor should have come to talk to the family and asked them not to be taking pictures of the staff. We have security - so I usually just let security handle any confrontations - that way I can still be the nurse, not the enemy. Plus, people take security a little more seriously than a nurses warning.

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i would have stopped the procedure right there and then, excused myself and consult w/nm.

holy cow. aren't there any privacy issues here?

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