What is the strangest thing...

[CaffeinePOQ4HPRN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

What is the strangest thing you have caught patients and/or their family members attempting to steal from your place of work?

We've lost a lot of tympanic thermometers, sphygmomanometers, pulse oximeters throughout the years, linens commonly vanish, and last winter someone made it into our change-room (i.e. a closet with a coat rack and tiny lockers) on our unit and stole the evening shift staff's winter coats. *Sniffles* I miss my winter coat

But this week... This week, I caught a patient's adult daughter trying to steal our brand new bladder scanner (which costs over $20,000). This thing is huge and connected to a large apparatus on wheels, yet she was wheeling it towards the elevator with such confidence and ease. When staff members attempted to address the situation it was quite a Winona Ryder moment.

[NuGuyNurse2b]

not the strangest but our hospital loses wheelchairs like it's going outta style. security watches them like hawks but yet we still end up short week after week and are constantly buying more. Well, not buying more, but getting the email from management saying we're buying more and telling us to be more alert. You know, on top of doing everything else, we're playing loss prevention, too.

[AJJKRN]

not the strangest but our hospital loses wheelchairs like it's going outta style. security watches them like hawks but yet we still end up short week after week and are constantly buying more. Well, not buying more, but getting the email from management saying we're buying more and telling us to be more alert. You know, on top of doing everything else, we're playing loss prevention, too.

My hospital has pretty much replaced all of our old school wheelchairs with a new transport chair that does not fold up and would be way too heavy to pick up and put into a vehicle. Plus they're a bright primary color.

Honestly it's kinda funny and cynical to be watching a Pt/family from a far about to get into their vehicle to finally leave the hospital, after they've been nurtured back to health, and then watch them fold up hospital property, put the property into their vehicle without skipping a beat, and drive off never looking back!

[vanilla bean]

Bye-bye little bedside CPAP machines, hope you enjoy your new homes.

[AZQuik]

Work with a nurse in the ED who had her purse in a cabinet at a nurses station, a pt visitor took her keys out of her purse and stole her car. She was a bit livid 3 hours after her shift still waiting for pd to show up.

It was all on camera, thief was arrested, car was totaled.

My keys are in my pocket or locked in my locker!

BSN GCU 2014.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses

[excited1]

Work with a nurse in the ED who had her purse in a cabinet at a nurses station, a pt visitor took her keys out of her purse and stole her car. She was a bit livid 3 hours after her shift still waiting for pd to show up.

It was all on camera, thief was arrested, car was totaled.

My keys are in my pocket or locked in my locker!

BSN GCU 2014.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses

Ohhhhhh myyyyyyyyy

[RN403, BSN, RN]

Dishes and silverware off their food tray.

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

We caught the daughter of a patient in our clean supply room several times and called security. They observed her leave the hospital with a bag of diapers and followed her to her car. The trunk was full of hospital supplies, styrofoam cups and linens, even pillows and a case of tube feeding. Administration did not press charges and she was allowed to visit freely.

[CaffeinePOQ4HPRN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

We caught the daughter of a patient in our clean supply room several times and called security. They observed her leave the hospital with a bag of diapers and followed her to her car. The trunk was full of hospital supplies and linens, even pillows and a case of tube feeding. Administration did not press charges and she was allowed to visit freely.

Seriously?! That's ridiculous. I guess "anything goes" to ensure those patient satisfaction scores.

[Adele_Michal7, ASN, RN]

Bed pans and water pitchers

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Bedside debridement tray, still covered with blood and other excreta infected with MRSA and couple of other MDRO. The reason given to security guys was that it would make a good gift for someone who enjoys woodworking.

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

What on earth would possess somebody to try and steal a bladder scanner? That's not the most likely to be used at home item.