What would YOU have done

Nurses General Nursing

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I have a question for you nurses or CNA's for that matter. Say a quadriplegic person whom cannot talk, (but does have a voice and can cry out) is crying out because he's uncomfortable. A nurse (I really do not even want to call her that) gets tired of his yelling out and says he is disturbing other patients, closes his door and removes his call light for the whole night. The only way this person is able to work the call light is by tapping it with his head. So if you had witnessed this, would you have gone about your work or would you have said something?

This is outright abuse. I am sorry this happened to your uncle. Call the licensing agency for the facility to register your complaint.

Best wishes.

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Specializes in Cardiothoracic ICU.

easier said on a forum than done

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Specializes in Family Practice, Mental Health.
This nurse is currently being investigated and is NOT allowed to go into my uncle's room again. I am just wondering whey no one spoke up to her? The family feels the whole unit should be under investigation since no one spoke up.

I have sympathy for your situation, and can understand how you must feel.

When a staff member is accused of doing something, depending upon the State, the facility will normally not fire them on the spot unless they put the patient in clear and present danger. (think of leaving a two year old with a knife in front of a lightsocket, and then failing to remove the child when he/she reaches for the socket). Think; "loss of life or limb". This absolutely does not exonerate the nurse from shutting off access to someone who needs interventions for pain management.

When someone is accused and investigated, it is not broadcast to all and sundry. It will be conducted in the background, which is the appropriate thing to do. Depending upon what information needs to be gathered, the process may take a little bit. Witnesses, documentation, records, etc, will usually be reviewed.

May you have justice that is served swiftly.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

I'm sorry for what your uncle and your family have been going through my4helpers. I think all of us have bookmarks in our memories "I want to be that kind of nurse" or "I will never be that . . ." I've found that real people can be better role models than written material because you see them in action, dealing with real life stresses.

Sometimes the process can seem slow and tedious and seem "easier said than done". If you think about it though, as upsetting as it is, you probably don't want to scoop up everyone on the unit that evening, hopefully a proper investigation will clarify the details. Many times what is observable masks the reality of a boiling cauldron of discontent among the staff. It's quite possible there is someone in the group who does advocate for the patients -- or even reported it - not all governing bodies require you to disclose your name to initiate a complaint.

Visiting 4 times a week is an excellent idea for lots of reasons, and I think the fact that it is obvious this man has a loving and observant family will help him immensely.

Best wishes for a successful rehab for your uncle. It does take perseverance, how fortunate he has you to encourage him when the going gets rough. :up: :)

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That is RIDICULOUS! Just reading that post makes me irate! GRRRRR. You know, people, not just nurses can be really mean and cruel. What would I do???? I would immediately report that behavior. If that really happened the way you say, that person should not be a nurse, or in any industry that deals with people. Totally unacceptable. Sorry you crossed paths with a mean, mean person.

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OMG-this breaks my heart. I am so sorry for your uncle and your family. Is it too late to call the patient advocate line? Can be transfer facilities? It is great that you are looking after your uncle!

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

actually, this action is a form of illegal restraint.

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

I agree with others that these actions are abusive and I have seen staff do exactly what you have described. But how do you know that this is exactly what happened? If I understand your post you are not an employee on the unit,you are a family member. In my experience a patient like your uncle can loose all concept of time-my own mother used to do that whenever she was hospitilized. Waiting 3 mins feels like 45 mins when you need something.

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Totally, totally wrong as the above posters have mentioned.

Can I ask why he has been in 4 different facilities?

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I am a CNA. I would have first gotten someone into that room with me to reposition the patient more comfortably. After the patient was settled, I would report said nurse to the Charge Nurse for her abusive behaviour. :).

We keep a seemingly endless supply of "spare" call bells in our stock room, too...

Removing the patients way of communicating (call bell) is abuse.

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I agree with others that these actions are abusive and I have seen staff do exactly what you have described. But how do you know that this is exactly what happened? If I understand your post you are not an employee on the unit,you are a family member. In my experience a patient like your uncle can loose all concept of time-my own mother used to do that whenever she was hospitilized. Waiting 3 mins feels like 45 mins when you need something.

I know exactly what you mean, but in my uncles case, he is STILL sharp as a tack. It's actually quite amazing. I mean this stroke has left him paralyzed, unable or talk or eat (which he has been on pureed for a month now) and he knows what is going on around him. Sadly, the clock is his best friend. When we walk into the room he looks to see what time we come and then he looks at the clock to see what time we are leaving. When he was at the other LTC facility, the nurse said she would come back in 10 min. to do a breathing treatment. After 15 min had past, he told me to get her and then I replied it's not been 10 min. So he looked at me and the clock. Here he was trying to tell me it had been 10 min because he kept track. When they look into it though, they will be able to see just how long the call light was out of reach in the end.

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Totally, totally wrong as the above posters have mentioned.

Can I ask why he has been in 4 different facilities?

I think I stated in a previous post that he had been in several different facilities and I go and visit him 4 times a week. When this occurred he was rushed to the hospital and stayed for about a week. They were not really doing anything for him but keeping him heavily sedated because he kept biting his tongue. After a week his son demanded that he be sent to a bigger hospital (1.5 hours away) and he was. Once he arrived, the doctor diagnosed him that evening. He stayed at that hospital for the next several weeks so they could keep an eye on him. After that he was transferred to a nursing home and he stayed there for about 8 weeks while his family worked on insurance papers so he could be moved closer to us. Around the beginning of Nov. he was finally moved to a local nursing home. Two weeks ago the director thought that he would be a good candidate of getting weaned off the air so that is why he is at this hospital now. It's only a short term stay though. The family is looking into getting him into a better LTC with better rehab. He has so much potential, but he just needs rehab.

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